Chad’s Transitional Govt Says Won’t Negotiate With Rebels

Chad’s new military transitional government said it will not be negotiating with the rebels blamed for killing the country’s president Idriss Deby.

Speaking in a televised statement, military spokesman, Gen. Azem Bermandoa Agouma, said the rebels were seeking to collaborate with several groups of jihadists and traffickers who served as mercenaries in Libya.’

He added that this was not the time for mediation or negotiation with outlaws which would further endanger Chad and the stability of the entire sub-region.

The rebel group known by their French acronym FACT said on Sunday it was joining other armed groups, who oppose Deby’s son Mahamat Idriss Deby taking control of the country for 18 months ahead of new elections.

Security forces had launched after them and with the support of the air force located the enemy scattered in small groups regrouping in Niger territory,` far from the Chadian capital.

In the meantime, Opposition groups have called his son’s appointment a coup-d’etat and have called for a demonstration on Tuesday.

The former colonial power, France, has been careful not to criticize the military’s actions, and French President Emmanuel Macron attended Deby’s funeral last week.

Chad is home to a French military base where counterterrorism operations for the region are headquartered. Chad also has supplied critical troops to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in northern Mali.