Three months ago, on April 20 at the end of the morning, the Chadians learned on the national radio and television of the death of the head of state Idriss Déby, in power for thirty years, and the establishment of…

Chad: three months later, what we know about the death of President Idriss Déby Itno

The coffin of Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno during his funeral in Ndjamena on April 23, 2021. AFP - ISSOUF SANOGO

Text by: François Mazet Follow |

Madjiasra Nako

6 mins

What do we know today about the circumstances of his disappearance?

Publicity

On the evening of Monday April 19, a crowd of supporters of the MPS gathered at Place de la Nation in Ndjamena. They are gathered to celebrate

the re-election of Idriss Déby

at the head of the country. The electoral commission grants to the one who became Marshal of Chad the previous year, 79.32% of the votes. But contrary to what has been announced, the winner will not come to speak in front of his supporters. Earlier, tanks were deployed around the presidency, which puzzles journalists. In circles close to power, the rumor is spreading: Idriss Déby died in combat.

Two days earlier, on Saturday April 17, just back from a trip abroad, he had taken the road north, to Kanem province.

For a week, in fact, the rebel columns of the Fact (Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad), parts of Libya, have been advancing south.

Despite the help of French intelligence and the overflights of planes supposed to dissuade them from continuing their journey, here they are near Mao, some 300 kilometers from the capital.

Evacuated by helicopter to Ndjamena

Warlord described as "

courageous, but sometimes angry

" by several of his advisers, he takes on the role he loves of the marshal who leads his troops to the front. After a bivouac, he arrived on site the next day, Sunday April 18. His men are fighting a bitter fight with the rebels near Nokou. His column tries to get as close as possible to the front line. She was stopped by heavy weapons fire at the leading vehicles, according to a witness. Out of his own, Idriss Déby is hit, in the head or in the trunk depending on the version. We evacuate it towards the rear, the time for a helicopter to arrive from Ndjamena, and board it lifeless towards the capital. On the night of Sunday 18 to Monday 19, the aircraft landed in the enclosure of the presidency with the lifeless body of the president on board.

Monday 19 will give rise to negotiations to form the Transitional Military Council.

In the evening, the electoral commission therefore announces the re-election of the “Marshal”.

The rebels, at the very end of the evening, disseminate a list of senior army officers killed at the same time: there is "Colonel Idriss Déby Itno".

The next morning, amazement: surrounded by members of the CMT, the army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, announces the death of Idriss Déby and the suspension of the Constitution.

The alternative thesis

In the days that followed,

an alternative thesis

circulated massively on social networks: Idriss Déby was allegedly murdered by one of his comrades in arms. He would be the victim of a settling of scores within his clan, the Zaghawas, a very small minority in Chad, but over-represented in security circles. We are talking about a meeting that would have gone wrong. A member of Yaya Dillo's family is said to have avenged the opponent. The assault on his residence on February 27, in which his mother was killed, would have deepened an already existing fracture between the "zags". From April 30, back to Ndjamena, Yaya Dillo receives RFI and

denies the theory of a family revenge

calling for forgiveness and dialogue.

Understand, first, within the clan.

He is sure that the former president is indeed dead in action, and that any other version is "

false information

Since then, no information has come to support the assassination thesis.

There are still questions about the details of the course of Sunday, April 18, including whether the Fact knew it was targeting Idriss Déby, and how information of his presence would have reached the rebels.

The death of Idriss Déby in any case made us forget the outcome of April 17 and 18: the defeat of the Fact against elite Chadian units, after costly fighting on both sides.

With more than a thousand men, the rebels had hitherto been able to progress unhindered,

with an arsenal built up in Libya

according to the prizes of war, and the training provided by Russian instructors linked to the Marshal's camp. Haftar.

What happened to the Fact?

Following this fighting,

the rebel columns dispersed

, regaining Libya, some passing through Niger, which caused some tension between Ndjamena and Niamey.

How many men does the Fact have today?

What are its resources?

Where is its leader Mahamat Mahdi Ali?

So many questions to which the answers are only fragmentary.

Some believe the group is camping in the southern Libyan desert, near the Chadian border.

Others that it is more in the center, near the town of Houn, but without certainty.

Its leader remains discreet, no doubt fearing revenge, and the Fact has agreed to participate in discussions initiated by Togo, alongside other rebel groups: the UFR, the CCMSR, and the FNDJT.

The goal of the Togolese initiative is to collect the demands of the rebels with a view to their contribution to the national dialogue to be organized by the Chadian government.

They demand a general amnesty, the release of prisoners of war and political prisoners, but they refuse to recognize the Military Committee of Mahamat Idriss Déby.

Chad: three months later, what we know about the death of President Idriss Déby Itno

Chad: three months later, what we know about the death of President Idriss Déby Itno

Evacuated by helicopter to Ndjamena

The alternative thesis

What happened to the Fact?

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