A Year After Déby's Death, True Transition In Chad Still Stalls

On April 20, 2021 the president of Chad, Idriss Déby Itno was killed in suspicious circumstances while visiting his troops - as the Chadian rebel group Front pour l'Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad, advanced towards the capital, N'Djamena.

The Transitional Military Council, led by his adopted son Mahamat Idriss Déby, then took power. The Zaghawa, the ethnic group of the old and new presidents, occupy the majority of posts in the council.

According to the constitution, the president of parliament should have acted as interim leader and called for new elections. A transitional constitution now grants Mahamat Déby even more power than his father ever had.

Chadians are now looking to the capital Doha in Qatar, where almost 50 political-military movements and representatives of the Chadian transitional government have been engaged in talks since early March 2022.

The meeting's outcome could decide the country's future. It will determine whether Chad will be peaceful or once again be torn apart by armed conflicts over its resources, writes Helga Dickow for The Conversation Africa.

InFocus

Capital city Ndjamena (file photo).

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