Home » Chad: “The rebels who killed the president trained in Libya by the Russians”

Chad: “The rebels who killed the president trained in Libya by the Russians”

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French President Emanuel Macron attended the funeral of important African ally Idriss Déby on Friday, the president of Chad who was shot dead on April 21 while visiting the front of the battle between his army and the Front For Change rebels and Concord (FACT). According to the Times, the rebels come from Libya, where they are protected, supplied and trained by the “Wagner” Group, a powerful Russian private military unit considered close to President Vladimir Putin.

Idriss Déby had just won his sixth term at the helm of the country he had ruled for 30 years when he was killed in unclear circumstances. He was replaced by his 37-year-old son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, who promised new elections within 18 months. France and the United States support this transition phase, while the opposition parties denounce the coup that transforms the country into a hereditary monarchy. The rebels want to take advantage of this, who crossed the border from Libya days ago aboard more than 400 vehicles equipped with heavy weapons and granted a brief respite only for the president’s funeral.

French head of state Macron at the president's funeral

French head of state Macron at the president’s funeral


To train and finance them would be the “Wagner” Group, considered by many observers a hidden arm of the Russian Defense Ministry. The private military company was founded in 1970 by Dmitry Valer’evich Utkin, a former GRU officer, Moscow intelligence. Utkin was so fond of the Third Reich that he used that of Hitler’s most beloved composer as his battle name, which was also given to his company. The “Wagner” Group would have around 10,000 staff and would have offices around the world in addition to considerable funding secured, reportedly by Evgenij Prigožin, the owner of Putin’s most frequented restaurants, coverage of a much wider wealth .

“Wagner” would have participated in the reconquest of Palmyra, removed from the control of the Islamic State, and in various operations in Syria in support of President Assad. The group is also supported by Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, who had been one of the commanders of Gaddafi’s army in the conflict between Chad and Libya and was taken prisoner in 1987 during the battle of Wadi al-Dum.

Moscow’s support for the Chadian rebels is viewed with concern in Washington and Paris. The Central African country was a French colony until 1940 and maintains good relations with France, which can count on a military base in N’Djamena from which it fights Islamic terrorism and monitors what is happening in the area. But the news is not good: the Wagner Group now has offices in 20 African countries and has settled in Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Libya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana. Putin can encourage coups, arming the rebels, training them and supporting them on the ground by pretending not to know anything. Speaking of the “Wagner” group, the Russian president said that if it exists and commits violations of the law, the magistrates will deal with it. A sentence that has too much “if” to be credible.

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