- He once helped to wage war against Boko Haram, liberating a Nigerian territory from them
President Idriss Deby was not a commander in chief of the Chadian armed forces in mouth. He was a leader who led assaults from the front where battle was hot. Unfortunately, he died after some skirmishes, the Chadian army revealed on Tuesday, 20 April 2021. He led Chad for 30 years.
Chadian Army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said in a statement read out on state television that Deby, 68, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend.
According of the Army, Deby and the troops engaged rebels in a duel on the northern flank of the country. His death happened 24 hours after he won elections for a sixth mandate.
In the 11 April election, Kodi Mahamat Bam, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission announced that Deby came first with 79.32 percent of the votes cast; Albert Pahimi Padacke, former prime minister, was second with 10.32; and Lydie Beassemda, the first female presidential candidate in Chad’s history, came third with 3.16 percent.
Last year, he helped Nigeria to wage war against Boko Haram, liberating a part of Nigerian territory from the insurgents.
Below is a story we published on this platform on 13 April, 2020 on it, entitled:
Idris Deby changes mind, will continue war against Boko Haram
By Ademola Adegbamigbe
President Idris Deby of Chad has made a U-turn on his move to pull out of the regional anti-militant fight days after he made the statement, africafeeds reported.
After his successful campaign against Boko Haram last week, he made a grand entry into Ndjamena the way Julius Caesar did after his defeat of Pompey. Immediately, he became the toast of the Western media as the strongman of the Chad Basin, the Maghreb and West Africa.
–Watch video of Chadian soldiers fighting Boko Haram here
–Watch video of Deby’s visit to the war front here
And as an African whose head is bound to swell after listening to his own panegyrics, Idris Deby said he was no longer to take part in any blitzkrieg against the insurgents. In fact, he invited Nigeria, the big neigbour, to come and take over the liberated territory since he was not another Attila the Hun, ready for territorial conquest!
He told his soldiers in the battle field that “This place will be our zone until Nigeria sends its troops. Stay with them for about a month. Do not let them free captured weapons or any Boko Haram (fighters).” The pull out was to affect operations related to Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin and other militant groups in the Sahel region.
However, another statement from Ndjamena made Deby’s colleagues in the Chad basin heave a sigh of relief. According to the africafeed report, a government statement has now said that the Chadian army will continue to participate in joint military operations against militant jihadist groups. “The statement said those efforts will cover the region, including the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.”
According to the government, Deby’s remarks were only meant to signal that the army would no longer conduct unilateral operations beyond its borders.
“It was never a question for Chad of disengaging from the (anti-Boko Haram) Multinational Joint Task Force or from the G5 Sahel joint force, much less from (MINUSMA),” the statement said.
The report has it further: “Chad is part of the Joint Multinational Task Force, JMNTF which is made up of countries in the Lake Chad region impacted significantly by the Boko Haram insurgency. The main members are Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon with Benin also contributing some personnel.
Chad is also part of the G5 Sahel operation to fight terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM. The G5 in the Sahel also comprises Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. President Deby in recent weeks visited Chadian troops in areas Boko Haram and other militants have been launching attacks against Chadian soldiers. Chad destroyed five bases of the Boko Haram in response to an attack on a military base on March 23 that killed 98 Chadian soldiers.
Deby said after arriving back from his visit to the troops that “Our troops have died for Lake Chad and the Sahel. From today, no Chadian soldiers will take part in a military mission outside Chad.” He had already claimed victory over the terrorist group, Boko Haram saying their bases have been completely destroyed. Since Boko Haram launched its bloody insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria more than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced. Boko Haram’s activities have extended beyond Nigeria to other countries within the Lake Chad Basin covering Niger, Chad and Cameroon. These countries continue to struggle to completely defeat the terror group and often suffer deadly attacks from the group.”