Africa

The death of Chad’s President Idriss Déby has plunged the country into uncertainty, causing concern among many Chadians and in neighbouring states. Crisis Group looks at recent events and examines the main risks facing the country.

What has happened?

According to official reports, Chad’s President Idriss Déby Itno died on Tuesday 20 April around 1am after clashes between the national army and the Front for Change and Unity in Chad (FACT) not far from Mao, in the country’s central Kanem region. After 30 years in power, Déby had just been re-elected for a sixth consecutive term in office. His death was announced at 11am on national television by the army’s spokesperson, General Azem Bermandoa. Some observers have expressed doubts about this version of events and suggest alternative, unconfirmed hypotheses about the circumstances of Déby’s death. One prominent story refers to a gunfight breaking out after failed negotiations with FACT members.

Depuis le 20 avril et l’annonce du décès d’Idriss Déby Itno, le Tchad est dirigé par un conseil militaire de transition conduit par Mahamat Idriss Déby. Le fils du président défunt est entouré de quatorze généraux. Des fidèles de la famille Déby aux technocrates de l’ombre, J.A. fait les présentations.

Que s’est-il passé ?

Selon des sources officielles, le président tchadien Idriss Déby Itno est décédé mardi 20 avril vers 1 heure du matin, à la suite de combats entre l’armée tchadienne et la rébellion du Front pour l’alternance et la concorde au Tchad (FACT), non loin de Mao dans la région du Kanem, au centre du pays. Au pouvoir depuis 30 ans, Déby venait tout juste d’être réélu pour un sixième mandat consécutif. Sa mort a été annoncée à 11 heures du matin, sur l’antenne de la télévision nationale, par le porte-parole de l’armée, le général Azem Bermandoa. Certains observateurs émettent des doutes sur cette version des faits et présentent d’autres hypothèses, non confirmées, sur les circonstances de sa mort, notamment celle d’une réunion de négociations avec des membres du FACT qui aurait tourné à la fusillade.

The armed forces of Mali are responsible for dozens of cases of killings, mistreatment, and disappearances during counterterrorism operations in the country’s central Mopti region, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.

In a press release, the international nongovernmental organization claims that Malian soldiers have taken the lives of at least 34 villagers, caused the disappearance of more than 16 people, and severely mistreated several detainees.

The U.N. refugee agency reports renewed fighting between government forces and rebel groups in Central African Republic has sent more than 2,000 refugees fleeing for their lives to neighboring Chad this past week.

Newly arriving refugees have been telling aid workers in Chad of the mayhem engulfing their region. The refugees, who come from CAR’s northern Kaga-Bandoro region describe shocking acts of violence, looting and extortion by rebel groups as government forces were closing in on them.

An armed group has taken control of a county in western Ethiopia, the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said, citing reports that civilians had been killed and public servants kidnapped.

The commission said it had received reports that Sedal Woreda, in the Kamashi Zone of the western Benishangul-Gumuz Region, was “under near full control of an armed group as of April 19”. It did not say which armed group it was referring to.

Climate change is straining livelihoods across broad swaths of Africa, intensifying instability in multifaceted ways. The continent’s ability to adapt to and mitigate these effects will have global repercussions.

Climate change is inherently unfair. It tends to most affect the poorest countries that have the lowest carbon emissions. By adding pressure to already strained environmental and economic systems, climate change exacerbates resource competition, intercommunal grievances, state fragility, and other vulnerabilities. Countries in conflict, in turn, are less able to focus on conservation and long-term adaptation.