It was not certain how close the rebel column was to N'Djamena, the capital city of 1 million people, or whether the military would remain loyal to Mahamat Idriss Deby following his father's sudden death after three decades in power.
The group's claim of advancing toward the capital could not be independently verified, but it immediately created panic in N'Djamena, which another rebel group attacked back in 2008."The security situation remains highly serious given the persistence and magnitude of the terrorist threat," the council's vice-president, Djimadoum Tiraina, said, adding that the military must now "prevent the country from sinking into chaos and anarchy.
The rebels are led by Mahamat Mahadi Ali, who formed the shadowy group known by its French acronym, FACT, in 2016 after leaving another rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development. HIs son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, 37, is best known as a top commander of the Chadian forces aiding a U.N. peacekeeping mission in northern Mali.
"Either scenario presents a high risk of civilian casualties and a likelihood that fleeing civilians or soldiers could export Chad's instability to neighbouring states," Hudson said.