Instead of handing power to the leader of parliament, as required by the constitution, the army put in place a military council headed by Mr Déby’s 37-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss Déby . The African Union, which is supposed to have a “no coup” policy, uttered barely a murmur. France, Chad’s main Western ally, turned a blind eye, too.
Chad hosts a large French army base and the headquarters of Operation Barkhane, an effort to fight jihadists in the Sahel involving 5,100 French troops. Its small army punches well above its weight. During the cold war, Chadian troops driving Toyota pickup trucks repelled the tanks of Muammar Qaddafi, a Soviet-backed Libyan dictator. In 2015, after the jihadists of Boko Haram had overrun north-eastern Nigeria, it was Chad’s turbaned warriors who ejected them from the main towns.
Chad’s previous dictator, Hissène Habré, was especially brutal. He seized power in 1982, after a Western-backed rebellion, and ruled for eight years. He is said to have ordered the deaths of 40,000 of his people. Many died in an underground prison known as, a converted underground swimming pool where inmates were tortured, raped and beaten to death. However, America appreciated his help holding back the red menace.
Mr Déby overthrew Habré. Under him, the secret police committed fewer atrocities, but did not stop entirely. Plenty of his opponents were tortured or murdered, and elections were skilfully rigged in his favour. None of this seemed to affect the support he enjoyed from France, which bombed rebels for him in 2019. After his death the French government said it had lost “a courageous friend”.
This is short-sighted. It is the constant deferral of democracy that has brought Chad to its current sorry state. It is fighting rebels, who are now thought to be less than 300km from the capital. Analysts fear the army will splinter, leading to civil war. Some liken Chad to Libya, which collapsed into carnage after the death of Qaddafi.
Pushing democracy rather than stability worked so well in Iraq and Afghanistan
France has it's own issues to contend with. Besides their efforts for 'democracy' in Libya and Iraq have been tragic failures.
wow
France is the biggest enabler for sit-tight dictators across Francophone WA. They have helped to ensure many life-presidents including those that can no longer remember their names remain in power. Yet it is the bastion of egalite, socialite, liberté?
The article from LMdiplo on this was much better - more in depth and sophisticated look at a very complicated mess
True that all efforts to bring democracy in this part of the world have proven very successful so far... short memory!
France is the problem not the solution.
Dear GOD/ALLAH/SHIV/etc. My comment on ur planet - Human being r enjoying Smoking, Alcohol, Drug, PORN, Premarital Sex & Extramarital Affairs SO Crime-rate & Health-care budget is skyrocketing. They are fighting/Killing each other based on Nationality, Religion, Race & Color.
Dear GOD/ ALLAH/SHIV/etc. My comment on ur planet - Human being r enjoying Smoking, Alcohol, Drug, PORN, Premarital Sex & Extramarital Affairs SO Crime-rate & Health-care budget is skyrocketing. They are fighting/Killing each other based on Nationality, Religion, Race & Color.
UK should come and give us a hand to maintain stability and peace. Then UK can talk.
Dear GOD/ALLAH/ SHIV/etc. My comment on ur planet - Human being r enjoying Smoking, Alcohol, Drug, PORN, Premarital Sex & Extramarital Affairs SO Crime-rate & Health-care budget is skyrocketing. They are fighting/Killing each other based on Nationality, Religion, Race & Color.
Dear GOD/ ALLAH/ SHIV/etc. My comment on ur planet - Human being r enjoying Smoking, Alcohol, Drug, PORN, Premarital Sex & Extramarital Affairs SO Crime-rate & Health-care budget is skyrocketing. They are fighting/Killing each other based on Nationality, Religion, Race & Color.
AUC_MoussaFaki your statement on the putsch in Chad should condemn the military coup and ask for respect of the constitution. A bloodshed is looming. ACT NOW! EndFrancafrique EndAnglophoneCrisis WeAreRemovingADictator _AfricanUnion SecBlinken YvesPapa1 NzajeP Vivalex8
The French are just as corrupt. Just look at what they did in Lebanon and Rwanda.
Why france is always causing chaos in Afrika? They cant just stop meddling with our politics.
It was the previous so called dictator you guys look out in Libya that's still having a ripple effect on the Sahel. Now you want the Libya style opposing to send us neighbouring TChad into a deeper shit****.
I think that between 'backing the next dictator or pushing for talks between the opposing sides',France will most certainly choose the first option.
It's boring to sit at home alone, looking for someone to spend time with
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