Chad President Idriss Deby dies visiting troops day after 6th term win

Deby
Chad's President Idriss Deby attends a working session of the G5 Sahel summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania, June 30, 2020.. PHOTO: REUTERS

Chad’s President Idriss Deby has died while visiting troops on the front line of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of a sixth term in office.

Deby’s campaign said on Monday that he was headed to the front lines to join troops battling “terrorists.”

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Rebels based across the northern frontier in Libya attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres south across the desert.

Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, Reuters said.