MOSCOW, May 2 (RIA Novosti) – The government of the Central African republic of Chad said it has prevented a putsch set to take place on May 1.
The coup was in the works since December 2012, but Chadian security agencies were aware of conspirators’ plans from the beginning and prevented them from taking action, the government said Wednesday.
The governmental communique did not identify any suspects, saying only that they were detained and handed over to prosecutors.
Media reports named lawmaker Saleh Makki of the oppositional National Union for Democracy and Renewal party among those detained.
Chad, which has a population of 10 million, is among the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, placing 165th of 174 countries in Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. The country also had a long history of coups and civil wars since gaining independence in 1960. Local rebels, who last tried to take the capital N’Djamena in 2008, said in March they will resume hostilities against the forces of President Idriss Deby, who himself came to power through a coup d’état 23 years ago.
