DRC President Felix Tshisekedi Appointed As Facilitator For Chad Crisis

Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi has been appointed as a facilitator for the political transition process in Chad, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) said on Tuesday, reported The Reuters.

On Tuesday, The Central Africa’s main regional body, (ECCAS) held an emergency summit in Kinshasa to discuss Chad’s situation, after about 50 people were killed in protests last week against military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby.

Thursday’s protests had been called by opposition campaigners to mark the date when the junta had initially promised to hand over power.

Chad, an ECCAS member, was represented by Mahamat Idriss Deby, who was named the country’s transitional president by a national forum earlier this month.

The 38-year-old five-star general has been in power since his father, Idriss Deby Itno, was killed in an operation against rebels in April 2021.

Deby has said he will organise elections in 2024, but, the opposition parties and civil society groups have been calling for protests to demand a quicker return to democracy, including the demonstrations last week that led to clashes.

Chad’s military junta initially vowed to hold elections within 18 months,a deadline that has now been extended by two years.

“I thank you for the honour of entrusting me with this facilitation mission to Chad during its transition period,” the DRC president told the summit.

In an opening speech to the summit, Tshisekedi called last week’s bloodshed a “dramatic mistake.” He said hopes for national consensus seem to have shattered. He warned that the political crisis has unfortunately revived.

The DRC president promised that he would spare no effort to carry out the mission entrusted to him.

 The summit’s final communique issued an appeal for peace to the Chadian government and people and condemned what it called violence for political ends.

It also urged Chad’s partners, particularly the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU), to maintain and step up their diplomatic, financial, material and technical support needed for the transition process.