{"id":3204,"date":"2021-05-02T16:57:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T20:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/?p=3204"},"modified":"2021-05-02T16:57:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T20:57:38","slug":"chad-president-killed-in-combat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/2021\/05\/02\/chad-president-killed-in-combat\/","title":{"rendered":"Chad President Killed In Combat"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ethan Wojciechowski<\/strong>
\nInternational Writer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For over thirty years Idriss D\u00e9by ruled the nation of Chad as its undeniable president. However, nine days following his reelection \u2013 in which he purportedly won more than 70% of the vote, with many question the electoral validity \u2013 President D\u00e9by was pronounced dead by the nation\u2019s military<\/a>. Marking the end of one of the longest and most tumultuous rules in Africa.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A picture of Idriss D\u00e9by in N’Djamena, Chad in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Claire Soares\/Reuters)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before his death, he was personally leading his army against rebels outside the city of N\u2019Djamena, Chad\u2019s capital. However, on April 20th<\/sup>, the nation was interrupted by breaking news as Chad\u2019s military announced the leader\u2019s death. They announced that he had succumbed to battle wounds inflicted during the fighting outside the capital. A battle that began the day when he was reportedly reelected as president despite the suspiciously high number.<\/p>\n

Instead of transferring power to the parliament, the military has instead dissolved the government and placed D\u00e9by\u2019s son, 37-year-old Mahamat Idriss D\u00e9by, in power<\/a>. The military has declared that it will rule for 18 months until they have determined that free and fair elections have been held.<\/p>\n

Many have speculated as to how D\u00e9by died and have cast doubt on the military\u2019s account of the situation. For one, the official account lacks detail and many citizens are alarmed by the sudden and drastic decision to dissolve the nations government and instead hand the power over to the military. The nation is weary of the future considering its tumultuous history.<\/p>\n

The elder D\u00e9by himself had come into power thanks to a coup<\/a>. As the leader of the Patriotic Salvation Movement he ousted the previous president Hiss\u00e8ne Habr\u00e9. Habr\u00e9 was charged in 2016 with a plethora of war crimes, including rape and sexual battery. For the first couple of months D\u00e9by was had few committed enemies.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Members of the Chadian Military attend the funeral of slain president Idriss D\u00e9by on April 23, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Christophe Petit Tesson\/Reuters)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After three months of relative peace and public content, the nation of Chad was again thrown into turmoil<\/a>. Rebel groups, such as the Movement for Democracy and Development and the Comit\u00e9 de Sursaut National pour la Paix et la D\u00e9mocratie, repeatedy disrupted and attacked Deby\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

At first, D\u00e9by attempted to quell the rebels and other objectors attempting to establish a parliament. Basic forms of government were formed, and a Constitution was ratified in 1996. While relative peace was established again, it did not last for long.<\/p>\n

In 2005, a civil war between Christians and Muslims erupted and an attempt for a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat was uncovered that involved the shooting of D\u00e9by\u2019s plane. For the next fifteen years violence would occur between D\u00e9by and those who opposed him, decimating the infrastructure of Chad.<\/p>\n

\"\"
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the funeral of slain Chadian President Idriss D\u00e9by, next to the elder D\u00e9by’s son and successor Mahamat Idriss D\u00e9by on April 23, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Christophe Petit Tesson\/Reuters)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

France in particular has seen Deby as a crucial partner<\/a> in the European nation\u2019s mission to fight Islamic Terror in its former colonies. For France, D\u00e9by\u2019s death, and a potential fracturing of relations is a serious blow to the country\u2019s efforts in the Sahel.<\/p>\n

For now, violence has apparently subsided, but many in Chad and abroad are concerned for the nation\u2019s future. Recently protests against the undemocratic transference of power broke out in N\u2019Djamena with reports of at least five demonstrators being killed<\/a>. Many are worried that the violence and tumult of the past is once again on the horizon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact Ethan at ethan.wojciechowski@student.shu.edu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over thirty years Idriss D\u00e9by ruled the nation of Chad as its undeniable president. However, nine days following his reelection \u2013 in which he purportedly won more than 70% of the vote, a claim that many considered dubious \u2013 President D\u00e9by was pronounced dead by the nation\u2019s military.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4547,"featured_media":3205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[546,537,714,836,133,534,826,536],"class_list":["post-3204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-546","tag-africa","tag-april","tag-chad","tag-diplomacy","tag-france","tag-may","tag-sahel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4547"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3233,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3204\/revisions\/3233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/stillmanexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}