Chad’s ruling military council has rejected an offer from the FACT rebel group, who said on Sunday that they were ready for a ceasefire and discussions two weeks after the president was killed on the battlefield.
“The time is not for mediation, nor for negotiation with outlaws,” said Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesman of the military council.
“They are rebels, which is why we are bombing them. We are waging war, that’s all,”.
The rebel group, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), stormed the northern border from Libya on April 11, calling for an end to President Idriss Déby’s 30-year rule.
An untold number of rebels in heavily armed pick-up trucks reportedly came as close as 200-300 km to the capital city N’Djamena, before being pushed back by the army.
President Déby was killed last Monday whilst visiting troops on the frontline, just one week after winning the national election.
A military council seized power on Wednesday, dissolving the parliament and suspending the constitution. According to the constitution, National Assembly Speaker Haroun Kabadi should have taken over after the president’s death.
Chaired by the late president’s son Mahamat Idriss Déby, the Transitional Military Council said it would oversee an 18 month period of transition until the next election. The opposition has called this a coup.
Kingabe Ogouzeimi de Tapol, the spokesperson for the FACT rebel group, told Reuters news agency on Sunday that “FACT is ready to observe a ceasefire for a political settlement that respects the independence and sovereignty of Chad and does not endorse a coup d’etat”.
The transition is being watched closely by Western governments, who have long regarded Chad as an ally against armed Islamist groups in the Sahel region.
The African Union has expressed “grave concern” over the military takeover. Meanwhile, France, which has a large base in Chad, appeared to back the military takeover under the ‘exceptional circumstances’, calling for a temporary military-civilian government to lead Chad out of the crisis.
President Emmanuel Macron visited Chad on Friday for Déby’s funeral and held talks with his son, General Mahamat Déby.
On Monday, Chad’s military council named Albert Pahimi Padacke, runner up in the April 11 elections, as prime minister of a transitional government.
Writer: Mickael Topiol
Photo Credit: US Army