What role did France play in the death of Idriss Déby

Military observer, researcher in social and political studies Grégoire Cyrille Dongobada shared his point of view on the situation in Chad where the main Chadian rebel groups have declared that they are ready to participate under certain conditions in the national dialogue, which must reconcile the Chadians. The meeting of the armed groups with the Committee in charge of the preparation of the event was held on November 2, 2021 in Paris. About twenty leaders of armed groups have arrived in the French capital to indicate the conditions under which they agree to participate in the national dialogue. Grégoire Cyrille Dongobada recalled that Mahamat Idriss Déby, who came to power in Chad after the death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, had created in August a special Technical Committee (CTS) to prepare the inclusive national dialogue before presidential and legislative elections.

Allamine Bourma Tréyé, head of communications of the CTS, said that the armed group Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) had called for the release of prisoners of war, a general amnesty for all politicians-military and the return of rebel property seized by the government. As for the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), responsible for the offensive during which President Idriss Déby was killed, this armed group demanded the definitive cessation of the repression of all peaceful demonstrations and the release of prisoners of war.

For the researcher in Social and political studies Grégoire Cyrille Dongobada, the meeting place, Paris, was not chosen by chance, because the former metropolis has already been recognized several times in connection with Chadian armed groups. France’s cooperation with Chadian armed groups became evident to the international community after the assassination of former Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno. Dongobada recalled that the FACT rebels moved to the capital N’Djamena in April 2021, where head of state Idriss Déby was fatally wounded on the front line. According to media reports, the rebels have strengthened their position to attack N’Djamena in Libya, where the unstable political situation has made the country vulnerable to foreign intervention, mainly French. There has been a lot of evidence that Chadian rebels bought military equipment from the French who violated the UN embargo on arms deliveries to Libya.

The question arises as to why would Paris organize the assassination of Idriss Déby, whom it has always considered its ally? Grégoire Cyrille Dongobada believes that in the last years of his life, Idriss Déby began to take certain measures that the French did not like, such as, in particular, rapprochement with Moscow. This same opinion is shared by the Arabic edition El-hdaf and many other media. Thus, the rebel forces were trained by French experts in Libya, and were sent to Chad to attack the capital.

France is trying by all means to strengthen its influence on the African continent, which it is rapidly losing. All the former French colonies, including Chad and the Central African Republic, refuse to give in to the manipulations of the French government. According to Grégoire Cyrille Dongobada, another reason for the elimination of Idriss Déby by France was his refusal to intensify the offensive of Chadian mercenaries on the Central African Republic in December 2020, during an attempted coup that was to lead to the seizure of power by the pro-French president François Bozizé. So France killed an African president, adding yet another crime to its bloody history in Africa.