On Tuesday, 68-year-old Deby succumbed to the injuries he sustained in hostilities with rebels. Following his death, the Transitional Military Council of Chad was established to rule the country for 18 months before the new government is elected.
"The President of the Republic... will go to the [Deby's] funeral at the end of the week. The transition period [of 18 months] begins today. We hope that it will take place peacefully, in the spirit of dialogue, so that the country will eventually get a stable, civilised government and that the transition period will end as soon as possible. As the President of the Republic recalled, the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region will not stop," Attal said at a briefing.
The late president of the African nation seized power during an armed uprising in 1990 and was re-elected on April 11 for his sixth term, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in Africa. During his 30 years of presidency, Deby established himself as a key ally to the Western powers in the counter-extremism campaign in the Sahel region. Macron hailed Deby as a "courageous friend."
