Newly Elected Chad’s President, Deby, Dies At 68

Chad’s newly re-elected President Idriss Deby Itno, who has been in power for three decades, died on Tuesday of injuries he sustained while dealing with and fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel country, the army said.

Deby, 68 years old, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna disclosed this in a statement read out on state television.

General Mahamat Kaka, the son of the deceased Chadian leader, has been named interim head of the state, the army spokesman said.

The news came barely a day after Deby, who came to power in a rebellion in 1990, won a sixth term, as per provisional results released on Monday. Deby took 79.3 percent of the vote in the April 11 presidential election, the results revealed.

According to his campaign manager, Deby postponed his victory speech to supporters and instead went to visit Chadian soldiers battling rebels.

Deby came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders.