N’Djamena: Chad’s President Idriss Deby has died in a battle against rebels in the north, the Army said on Tuesday.
The announcement came a day when provisional election results projected him to win a sixth consecutive term.
“Deby died while defending the sovereign nation on the battleground,” Army spokesperson said on Television.
He had gone to the front line, several hundred kilometres north of the capital, N’Djamena, at the weekend to visit troops battling rebels belonging to a group calling itself Fact (the Front for Change and Concord in Chad), BBC reported.
According to the broadcaster, a state funeral is due to take place on Friday.
Fourteen-day national morning has been declared in the Central African nation. A curfew has also been imposed.
Deby’s son, General Mahamat Kaka, will govern for the next 18 months.
