President of the Republic of Chad, Idris Deby, has died of injuries suffered on the frontline war against insurgency, according to reports from sundry media organs.
The Chad’s newly re-elected President Idriss Deby Itno, has been in power for three decades.
Aledeh, for instance, quoted the army to have said the President died Tuesday of injuries while fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel country.
He reportedly died in a hospital, a source familiar with the matter also told Sputnik on Tuesday.
The AFP reported earlier in the day that Deby, who commanded an army unit during hostilities against the rebels in Chad’s north, died.
The military spokesperson, Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said that the president died while protecting the country’s territorial integrity, according to the news agency.
The source told Sputnik that Deby was critically injured during the clashes and died later in the hospital.
The source added that the President arrived at the front line in the north to celebrate the military victories against the rebels and lead the operations of the armed forces.
Deby, who was in power for 30 years, was reelected for a sixth term on April 11.
Deby was re-elected with 79.32 percent of the votes cast, according to provisional results from the electoral commission.
Former prime minister Albert Pahimi Padacke came in second with just 10.32 percent in the presidential vote, while turnout was 64.81 percent, Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Kodi Mahamat Bam said.
The first female president candidate in Chad’s history, Lydie Beassemda, came third with 3.16 percent.
The provisional results still need to be approved by the Supreme Court after it studies potential legal appeals.
After more than three decades in power, the victory of 68-year-old Deby was never in serious doubt after a campaign in which he faced a divided opposition lacking a major rival candidate and demonstrations were banned or dispersed.
Officially nine candidates were running against Deby, but three withdrew and called for the vote to be boycotted — though the Supreme Court kept their names on the ballots.
Deby campaigned on a promise of peace and security in a region that has been rocked by jihadist insurgencies.
Chad’s army said Monday it had killed more than 300 rebels following a heavily armed group’s incursion in the country’s north after election day.
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