Nathanial Powell

Inserted 3 years ago

“That is technically a coup, but it is signalling to Chadians but also the international community that there is an absolute commitment to regime continuity. That sends a very strong message to France and to Chad's other international partners that they can expect continuity. I think that's the message they're trying to send – whether they can sustain that is another question. For a long time there's been discussion about what would happen if Deby were to die – he was notoriously in bad health, or for a long time people thought he might be in bad health – so the question was who would replace him. For several years he has been grooming his son, Mahamat, to take the 'throne' after he died.”

Aljazeera

Researcher in the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University and author of 'France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa'