Chad Crisis

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    Recently, Chad’s longest serving president Idriss Deby died of injuries sustained during clashes with the rebel group FACT (Front for Change and Concord in Chad) on the frontlines.

    • He was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. He had spent more than three decades in power in Chad.

    Chad Crisis

    • The former French colony is now the prime outpost of the West in fighting Islmamist militants across the Sahel which is the vast region between the Sahara and the Sudanian savanna.
    • France still has a strong military presence in the region and had provided support to Déby in fighting political opponents and allies.
      • The motive behind military operations in the Sahel countries is to fight Islamist groups, monitor political ambitions, and train future African leaders.
      • Chad has been France’s most effective and stable Sahel ally in achieving these goals.
      • France has nearly 5,100 French soldiers in the Sahel region for France’s Operation Barkhane which began in 2014 to lead counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel region.
    • France has defended the Chadian army’s takeover, and Macron called upon the military government to foster stability, inclusion, dialogue and democratic transition.
    • Now, Late President Idriss Déby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno was named transitional leader. The 37-year-old is a four-star general.

    About Chad

    • It is a landlocked country in north-central Africa.
      • Bordered by Libya to the north, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest, Sudan to the east and Niger to the west.
    • It is the fifth largest country on the African continent.
    • Capital: N’Djamena
    • The official languages of the country are Arabic and French.

     

    Image Courtesy: VOA

    FACT (Front for Change and Concord in Chad)

    • It is a rebel group led by long-time rebel Mahamat Mahadi Ali.
    • The sole agenda of the rebel group has been to topple Deby’s government. It said in a statement after the announcement of Deby’s death, “Chad is not a monarchy.”
    • The rebels added saying that there can be no dynastic devolution of power in the country and threatened to depose the new leader.

    Sahel Region of Africa

    • It is a semi-arid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan.
    • It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.
    • The Sahel stretches from Senegal on the Atlantic coast, through parts of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan to Eritrea on the Red Sea coast.

    Image Courtesy: conversation.com

    Source:IE

     

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