Chad President, Idriss Déby’s Burial In Pictures
Thousands of Chadians attended the state funeral of long-serving President Idriss Déby after he was killed earlier this week during a clash with rebels.
Among the foreign leaders there was France’s President Emmanuel Macron, for whom Chad is a key ally in the fight against jihadists in region.
He addressed his words to the casket, saying “you lived as a soldier, you died as a soldier with weapons in hand.
“You gave your life for Chad in defence of its citizens.”
The ceremony also saw a military march-past and a speech by Déby’s son, Gen Mahamat “Kaka” Déby Itno, who the army has named as the country’s new leader.
He vowed to “stay loyal to the memory” of his father and pledged to continue the legacy of “dialogue, forgiveness, peace, unity” that the late president was “admired for”.
The army says President Déby died in a battle with a dissident army rebel group, called Fact, in the country’s north on Tuesday.
Other visiting heads of state at Friday’s ceremony included the leaders of Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria – who all ignored warnings from the rebels that they should not attend for security reasons.
After the military honours and speeches, prayers were said at the Grand Mosque of N’Djamena.
Then Mr Déby’s remains were being flown to Amdjarass, a small village next to his hometown of Berdoba, more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from the capital, near the Sudanese border.
News of his shock death on Tuesday was met with tributes from numerous presidents – France’s Emmanuel Macron called him a “brave friend”, Cameroon’s Paul Biya said he served “tirelessly”, DR Congo’s Felix Tshisikedi called it a “a great loss for Chad and for all of Africa”, Mali’s President Bah Ndaw lamented his “brutal” death and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa called it “disturbing”.
President Déby was a key player in security strategy in the Sahel region – and Chad is reputed for having one of the best-trained and best-equipped armies in West Africa, which is battling militants link to both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
A military council led by his son, Gen Mahamat Déby Itno took power after his death.
The BBC’s Lalla Sy says he only has partial support of the army, however he is backed by former colonial ruler France, which has a large military base in N’Djamena.
On Thursday French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian appeared to back the military takeover, by saying the immediate priority in Chad was to ensure the country’s stability amid “exceptional circumstances”.
Gen Déby, 37, has said the army will hold democratic elections in 18 months, but opposition leaders have condemned his succession as a “coup” and an army general said many officers were opposed to the transition. A general strike has been called in protest.
Fact rebels also reject it but have called a temporary ceasefire while Friday’s funeral takes place.
In a statement on Friday, the rebels said their command centre had been bombed two days earlier in an attempt to kill their leader. Its location, and details of any casualties, were not specified.
Military divisions spell fragile beginnings’
Analysis by Lalla Sy, BBC News
Chad’s president was one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers and a close ally of the Western powers, especially France.
The support given to president Idriss Déby – officially aimed at fighting against rebel groups and Islamist militants in West and Central Africa – consisted of intelligence for the Chadian army, aerial surveillance, and even protecting strategic points for the Chadian army.
The presence of a foreign army is never well received by the local population, especially when they are soldiers of the former colonial power.
The idea that France deliberately maintains a certain chaos in the region to defend its interests is believed by many.
But divisions within Chad’s military – who only partially support the new leader while rebels reject him outright – raises fears of instability as a fragile transition gets underway.
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Pantami: Presidency’s Statement Confirms Sympathy For Terrorism – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the statement by the Buhari Presidency, in which it shows a desperation to provide official cover to a terrorism apologist further confirms public and international apprehensions that the Buhari administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are patronizing acts of terrorism in our country.
Nigerians were traumatized that the Presidency could mount a hopeless defence and justification for the actions of the exposed Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, who had already confessed to supporting terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Taliban.
It is instructive to note that this anti-people stance has heightened public anxiety that the Buhari Presidency is a haven for traitors who are providing support to acts of terrorist activities in our nation.
Our party holds that this has further exposed why the Buhari Presidency has failed to decisively confront terrorism as well as why terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and insurgents are emboldened to ravage our nation and massacre our compatriots.
It is inexcusable that the Buhari Presidency is showing grave insensitivity to the fact that thousands of Nigerians have been massacred, maimed and horrified; that hundreds of communities have been devastated and that our nation has been under siege because of the actions and public comments by individuals like Isa Pantami.
The PDP asserts that it is pertinent to point out that Isa Pantami had initially denied his support to terrorist groups and only admitted after he was overwhelmed by evidence; thus rubbishing the lame claims by the Buhari Presidency that the minister had turned a new leaf 20 years ago.
The PDP holds that Isa Pantami belongs to the deradicalization center and not in any way in the Federal Executive Council where he been alleged of compromising our national security as evinced in his initial denials.
This is in addition to allegations in the public space that the exposed minister had been compromising our national data as well as the NIN registration exercise, wherein aliens and invaders from other countries were alleged to have been registered as our citizens. These are issues that our party insists must be investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
As a party, the PDP charges President Muhammadu Buhari to reassure the citizens by immediately withdrawing the statement from his Presidency, relieve Isa Pantami of his position as minister and take a bold step to flush out terrorist apologists from the Presidency.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
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