Rebels threaten to overrun Chad after President Deby’s killing

Following the battlefield killing of Chadian president, Idris Deby, rebels have threatened to overrun the country capital N’Djamena.

Moreso, the rebel group who had claimed responsibility for Mr Déby’s death said they will continue to fight and advance towards the capital, a declaration that could potentially open the lid for a bloody battle for political control of the oil-producing country that borders Nigeria’s volatile North-east region.

Outright, the group rejected the decision of the military which plan to transfer power to the 37-year-old son of the late president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, in the interim. With a caveat that there can never be “devolution of power in our country,”

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“Chad is not a monarchy. There can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country,” the rebels said in a statement late Tuesday. “The forces of the Front for Change and Concord are heading toward N’Djaména at this very moment. With confidence, but above all with courage and determination.”

The exact circumstances of Mr Deby’s death remained murky, but observers believe it has all the handwriting of a coup on it: an incumbent leader killed, the constitutional provision for succession violated, the National Assembly dissolved and an interim military council installed.