Chad - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Chad air force chief orders US to halt activities at army base

CHAD'S air force chief ordered the United States to halt activities at an air base near the capital N'Djamena, according to a letter sent to the transitional government and seen by Reuters. Chad has so far not followed the steps of juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in ending military collaborations with France and other traditional Western allies while they strengthen ties with Russia instead. In the letter dated April 4 to Chad's minister of armed forces, Air Force Chief of Staff Idriss Amine Ahmed said he had told the U.S. defence attache to halt U.S. activities at the Adji Kossei Air Base…

Apr

2024

By MAHAMAT RAMADANE

Chad interim president Deby kicks off campaign for vote set to end junta rule

NEWS

CHAD'S interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby kicked off his presidential campaign for an election next month meant to end three years of military rule on a promise to strengthen security and boost the economy. Deby's government is one of several juntas that seized power in West and Central Africa since 2020, drawing concerns of a democratic backslide. Chad is the first of these to organise elections despite regional and international pressure to swiftly hand power back to civilians. "Today we are at the final turn on the road to constitutional return," Deby told a large crowd gathered in scorching weather…

Apr

2024

By DAVID LEWIS

Chad opposition figure was likely shot at point-blank range

NEWS

A prominent Chadian opposition leader, who was killed in February by government troops, appears to have been shot in the side of the head at close range, according to five forensic experts who reviewed a photo of his dead body for Reuters. The experts' findings, based on the location and nature of the wound visible in the image, call into question statements by Chadian officials that Yaya Dillo was shot dead in an exchange of fire on February 28 when security forces tried to arrest him at his party's headquarters in the capital, N’Djamena. Professor Derrick Pounder, a U.K.-based pathologist…

Mar

2024

By HELGA DICKOW

Chad presidential election: assassination of main opposition figure casts doubt on country’s return to democracy

NEWS

THE assassination of Chad’s main opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, is hanging heavy over presidential elections due in early May. Dillo was killed on 28 February when the headquarters of the opposition Party Socialiste sans Frontières (Party of Socialists without Borders) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena was besieged by the newly formed Rapid Reaction Force. It’s not the first violence meted out to the opposition. In October 2022 Chadian security forces killed hundreds of protesters. They were protesting the extension of the transition to democracy from 18 to 36 months and the decision of transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby to stand…

Mar

2024

By MAHAMAT RAMADANE

Chad’s interim leader Deby confirms plan to run for president

NEWS

CHAD'S interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby said he plans to run in this year's long-awaited presidential race. Deby's confirmation came at the end of a chaotic week in which opposition politician Yaya Dillo was shot and killed in the capital N'Djamena. Dillo's death on Wednesday in disputed circumstances has further exposed divisions in the ruling elite at a politically sensitive time as the Central African country prepares for the promised return to democratic rule via the ballot box. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The Chadian government has said Dillo was killed in an exchange of gunfire with security forces and has accused members of his party…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Putin meets Chad junta leader as Russia competes with France in Africa

NEWS

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin met Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby in the Kremlin, courting a country that had previously maintained a pro-Western policy and spurned Russia's recent outreach in Africa's Sahel region. Russia has been moving to edge out the influence of France, the former colonial power in West Africa and the Sahel, and build ties with countries that have been roiled by a wave of coups since 2020. Deby has led Chad since 2021, when he took power in a coup shortly after his father, long-serving president Idriss Deby, was killed in battle fighting anti-government rebels. The junta initially…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Chad opposition leader Masra appointed PM of transitional govt

NEWS

CHADIAN opposition leader Succes Masra who recently returned to the central African country following a deal with the ruling junta, was appointed as prime minister of the transitional government, the presidency said. His appointment could be seen as a move by the junta to appease the opposition after a constitutional referendum in which most opposition political parties have either called for a boycott or a "no" vote. Masra, a staunch opponent of the junta which seized power in April 2021, fled the country after dozens were killed and hundreds injured as security forces cracked down on demonstrations in the capital N'Djamena on…

Dec

2023

By MAHAMAT RAMADANE

Chad votes yes to new constitution backed by junta

NEWS

CHADIANS have voted in favour of a new constitution that critics say could help cement the power of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby. The referendum held earlier this month was approved by 86% of voters, the government commission that organised it said on Sunday. Voter turnout was about 64%, it said. Chad's military authorities have called the vote a vital stepping-stone to elections next year - a long-promised return to democratic rule after they seized power in 2021 when former president Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with insurgents. The new constitution will maintain a unitary…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Chad declares four Sudanese diplomats persona non grata- government statement

NEWS

THE Chad government said it had declared four Sudanese diplomats persona non grata and ordered them to leave within 72 hours following what it called "grave statements" by Sudanese officials accusing it of interfering in the conflict in Sudan. The diplomats are the first counsellor of the embassy, the defence attache and two consuls. The decision came after "grave statements that lack any basis," made by top Sudanese officer, General Yassir al-Atta, and repeated by Sudan's foreign minister on local television, the statement, signed by Chad's government spokesman, said. "The recurrence of such statements by Sudanese authorities with regards to Chad…

Jun

2023

By EMMA FARGE

Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says

NEWS

THE U.N. refugee agency warned that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. So far, the conflict between warring military factions that began in mid-April has caused nearly 600,000 people to escape into neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Central African Republic. "Unfortunately, looking at the trends, looking at the situation in Darfur, we're likely to go beyond 1 million," Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said in response to a question about its estimate in April for the coming six…