The Chad government will start trying 150 rebels accused of causing the death of President Idriss Déby on Monday. The trial is expected to take place in a high-security prison in Kléssoum, reported The Africa News.
The suspects are from the Front for Concord and Change in Chad (FACT), the rebel movement that launched an offensive to overthrow Chad’s government from its rear bases in Libya in 2021.
They are being tried on a number of charges including terrorism, undermining state security, enlisting child soldiers, mercenarism, and assassination of a sitting president.
Idriss Deby, who had ruled Chad since 1990, was killed on the frontline in April 2021 after he was hit while overseeing the army’s operations fighting rebels in the north. The ex-military officer had just won a sixth term after the provisional election results were declared, which was criticized as fraudulent.
Soon after, a junta of 15 generals announced Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a 37-year-old general at the time, as the “President of the Republic” after his father’s demise, for a transitional period meant to lead Chad to free and democratic elections after 18 months.
A nationwide forum has approved a new 24-month timeframe for holding elections. The forum has also ratified Deby’s right to seek the presidency after the transition.
Chad’s new military rulers were, however, able to stop the rebels from advancing with the help of French troops.
Nearly two years after Deby’s death, negotiations between the Chadian government and the rebel movement have stalled. The group has rejected to be a part of any peace-building talks, demanding the release of its members from jail.
Last month, the Chad government announced that the country’s security forces had successfully foiled an attempt by a group of army officers to destabilize the country and undermine constitutional order,
The rebel army officers were led by Baradine Berdei Targuio, president of the Chadian Human Rights Organisation.
