The son of Chad’s slain leader Idriss Deby took over as president and armed forces commander on Wednesday as rebel forces threatened to march on the capital, deepening the turmoil in a country vital to international efforts to combat militants in Africa.
The political opposition also denounced the military’s takeover of control, calling the move a coup d’etat and rejecting its plan for a transition. Labour unions called for a workers’ strike.
Deby, 68, was killed on Monday on the frontline in a battle against fighters of the Libyan-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), a rebel group formed by dissident army officers.
His death shocked the nation and raised concerns among Western allies, notably France and the United States, who had counted on him as an ally in their fight against terrorist groups including Boko Haram.
Deby had been in power since 1990 and had just been declared winner of a presidential election that would have given him a sixth term in office. His son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, was named interim president by a transitional council of military officers.
General Deby, 37, moved to consolidate his position on Wednesday, with the council issuing a new charter in place of the country’s constitution granting him the functions of president and also naming him as head of the armed forces.
In his first public comments since taking power, Deby said the army wanted to return power to a civilian government and hold free and democratic elections in 18 months.
“The military council has no ambition to govern the country alone,” he said in a speech to political party representatives, posted on the presidency website.
“The Transitional Military Council will work to consolidate democracy, assure peace and stability, guarantee security and the integrity of the national territory.”
The military also announced it had re-opened Chad’s borders, which were closed after Deby’s death.
The FACT rebels rejected the military’s plan and said on Wednesday that a pause in hostilities they are observing to give time for Deby to be buried would end at midnight.
“The forces of national resistance are more than ever determined to deliver the Chadian people from this abominable dictatorship,” they said in a statement.
The statement also warned foreign heads of state against going to Deby’s funeral on Friday “for imperatives of security”. French President Emmanuel Macron plans to attend, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
