The African Union called on the Chadian army, which took power after the killing of President Idriss Deby last Monday, to restore power to civilians, while France and the five Sahel countries expressed their support for the formation of a mixed civilian and military transitional government.
The African Union urged the military in Chad to respect the constitutional order of the country and move urgently to hand over power to civilians, warning - in a statement - that the situation in Chad poses a potential threat to peace and stability in this country as well as to its neighbors and the entire continent.
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union called for a "comprehensive national dialogue" in Chad, and requested the Union Commission headed by Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat to "urgently establish a high-level fact-finding mission" in Chad.
Military Council
A transitional military council assumes power in Chad after the death of former president Idriss Deby, 68, of his wounds during battles with rebels in northern Chad, and the council is chaired by his son Mohamed Idriss Déby (37 years), after what the Chadian army announced the day after Deby's death The formation of a transitional military council headed by the son of the late president, to lead the country for a period of 18 months, to be followed by elections.
The body of Deby was buried yesterday in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, and the official funeral was attended by a number of heads of neighboring countries to Chad and some foreign delegations, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ahead of the funeral, the leaders of the Sahel group (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) and France expressed their "support for the civil-military transitional process in Chad for the sake of the stability of the region." A source in the French presidency said yesterday that Paris and countries in the region are pressing for the formation of a mixed civil-military transitional government. .
The prominent leader of the Chadian opposition, Société Masra, supported this proposal, calling for the appointment of a temporary civilian president and his deputy to be named by the army.
Chadian forces
In a related context, the American "Washington Post" newspaper quoted a French official as saying that some Chadian forces abroad may be forced to leave their positions within the so-called Five Sahel Alliance, and return to the capital, N'Djamena, to protect it and the rest of the country, after The killing of President Idriss Deby.
Washington and Paris support the coalition, in which thousands of Chadian forces participate, to confront the extremist organizations in a number of African countries, especially in Mali and Niger.
The French president said in a speech during the funeral of the late Chadian president, "We will not allow anyone to threaten Chad's stability and territorial integrity, neither today nor tomorrow."