BEVERLY HILLS, April 20, (THEWILL) – Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno has died reportedly from injuries he sustained fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel country, the country’s Army has announced a few hours ago on Tuesday.
Deby, 68, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend, army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said in a statement read out on state television.
According to the army spokesman, General Mahamat Kaka, the son of the deceased Chadian leader, immediately stepped into his father’s shoes after being named interim Head of State.
The news came a day after Deby, who came to power in a rebellion in 1990, won a sixth term, going by provisional results released on Monday.
Deby took 79.3 percent of the vote in the April 11 presidential election, according to the results.
Postponing his victory speech, Deby had instead gone to visit Chadian soldiers battling rebels, according to his campaign manager.
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