The Army in Chad has announced the death of the country’s President Idriss Déby whom they said died from injuries sustained in fighting at the front line.
Chad’s army is currently combating rebel forces who’ve launched an assault on the capital N’Djamena.
President Déby had won a sixth term in office following elections on April 11.
President Idriss Déby of Chad “used his last breath to defend the sovereign nation on the battlefield”, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read out on state television.
A nightly curfew has been imposed by the army in Chad with immediate effect, between the hours of 18:00hrs and 05:00hrs.
Air borders have also been closed until further notice.
President Idriss Déby, remains a key figure in the fight against jihadists in West Africa’s Sahel region, had promised to bring peace as part of his re-election campaign.
His campaign director said he was visiting soldiers battling rebels in the north of the capital on Monday and so had to pull out of an election victory celebration.
The Front for Change and Concord in Chad began its campaign on election day by attacking a border post with Libya.
The vote earlier this month was heavily contested and the main opposition candidates had pulled out citing attacks by state forces.
President Déby has been criticised for his human rights record but is seen as a key security ally by France and other countries in the region in the battle against Boko Haram and other groups liked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Crucially Chad also neighbours Libya, Sudan and the Central African Republic which have also faced instability in recent years.
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