The president of Chad, Idriss Deby has been killed in a clash with rebels who were advancing on the capital, N’Djamena over the weekend.
The rebels, from a group calling itself Fact (the Front for Change and Concord in Chad), attacked a border post on election day.
The army said on state TV on Tuesday that Idriss Deby had gone to the front line at the weekend to visit troops battling rebels based across the border in Libya.
The clashes with the army began on Saturday with army officials claiming 300 insurgents were killed and 150 captured.
Five government soldiers were also killed and 36 were injured, according to the military.
On Monday, provisional results from the election on 11 April projected Deby as winner with 80% of the vote.
He was set to secure a sixth term in office before his death. Déby was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
The government and parliament have been dissolved with a military council now set to govern for the next 18 months.
The 68-year-old Deby is a former army officer who came to power in 1990 after he overthrew autocratic leader Hissene Habre.
He has played a key role in the fight against Islamist militants in West and Central Africa during his presidency.
Chad under Deby is also one of the largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.
Source: Africafeeds.com
