The Chadian army said Sunday, May 9 that the operation against the rebels who have been leading an offensive for a month was “Finished”. The fighting began on April 11, the day of the presidential election in which Idriss Déby Itno was re-elected for the sixth time in a row. It was during the fighting between the army and the Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad (FACT) that Marshal Déby, mounted at the front, was killed.
“The war came and we were able to get the situation under control (…). We have cleaned up the place and there is nothing left now. The situation is back to normal, declared the chief of staff of the armed forces, Abakar Abdelkérim Daoud. Everything is finished, the national territory is secure. “
Several hundred Chadian army vehicles and armored vehicles returned to the Chadian capital N’Djamena on Sunday to celebrate the end of operations in the west of the country, an AFP journalist noted. The Chadian army presented 156 FACT prisoners to the press, as well as numerous seized vehicles.
Created in 2016 in southern Libya
“I ask the authorities to respect their rights as prisoners of war [et à] those who are still in rebellion outside the country to join the legality so that, together, they contribute to building a country of law and democracy ”said Béchir Mahadi, FACT chief of military operations, with long, unkempt hair.
Since the start of the offensive, the army has claimed to have killed ” several hundred “ of FACT rebels. On Thursday, the new defense minister said the rebellion was in “Stampede”.
Based since its creation in 2016 in the south of Libya, the FACT and its pick-up columns first descended from April 11 towards the south, crossing the Libya-Chad border, then passed through Niger, before returning to Chad in Kanem.
After the announcement of the death of President Déby, his son Mahamat took the reins of the country at the head of a Transitional Military Council (CMT). Surrounded by fourteen generals, all loyal to his father, he concentrates almost all the powers. The country’s new strongman has promised elections “Free and democratic” 18 months from now, a period he can extend once.