Rebels in northern Chad have vowed to advance on the capital N’Djamena, following the funeral of President Idriss Deby who died on the battlefield.
The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the border from northern neighbour Libya on April 11 in their thousands, according to analysts’ estimates.
Last week, they reached as close as 200-300 km from the capital, before a pushback from the army and pause to respect Deby’s funeral.
A Spokesman for the rebels, Kingabe Ogouzeimi de Tapol said they were preparing to advance having rejected the military transition, calling it a monarchy, and urged a return to democracy.
Battle-hardened from years of fighting for Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, the rebels could face stiff resistance near N’Djamena, a base for roughly 5,100 French troops fighting jihadists in the region.
FACT, which does not have links to jihadists, said warplanes bombed their command centre on Wednesday, and that France supported the raid with aerial surveillance. However, theFrench army has denied this.
At the funeral on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron, also pledged to defend Chad and called for a transition to democracy.
Despite the semblance of calm, In N’Djamena on Saturday, opposition leaders, labour unions and civil society organisations have denounced the military takeover.
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