Newly Elected Chad president Dies in Frontline Battle with Rebels

Newly reelected president of Chad, Marshal Idriss Déby Itno, died Tuesday on the battlefield in clashes with rebels, according to the Chadian army.

“Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Idriss Déby Itno has just given his last breath while defending the territorial integrity on the battlefield.

It is with deep bitterness that we announce to the Chadian people the death, this Tuesday, April 20, 2021, of Marshal of Chad. as a result of his injuries to the forehead,” Chad army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said during a statement on Tchad TV.

One of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders, Déby was injured on the front line in the Kanem region where rebel groups took control of the territory, Chad’s presidential office told ABC News.

Déby was declared winner of the presidential elections on Monday, April 19, the day before his death, which would have given him another six years in office.

According to provisional results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Déby had won the election with 79.32% of the votes.

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