The people of Chad mourn the demise of their deceased leader, Idriss Deby, and at the same time welcome his successor as president, General-Major Mahamat Deby Itno.
The transfer of power from father to son was announced on Tuesday, 20th April, following the death ifMahamat’s father Idriss.
According to reports, Idriss died on Tuesday after sustaining injuries during a clash with rebel forces.
The shocking news of Deby came a day after the Chadian leader, who came to power in a rebellion in 1990, was declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday.
With his son’s takeover confirmed by the army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, in a statement read out on the national television, here are nine things to know about him:
Born in 1984, General-Major Mahamat Deby Itno becomes the youngest president in the history of Africa at 37.
2. He becomes the event president/head of state in the history of Chad.
3. Mahamat, according to Wikipedia, first enrolled at the Joint Grouping of military schools in Chad and subsequently received training in France, at the military school of Aix-en-Provence.
4. It was gathered that upon his return, he was enrolled in second promotion of semi-direct of the school of officer inter armed and later was appointed to the service branch for the Security of State Institutions (SERS), as a deputy commander of the groupement of infanterie.
5. Mahamat’s first combat experience took place in April 2006 when rebel attacked the capital city of Chad and later participated in combat in eastern Chad along with General Abu Bakr al Said, then director of gendarmery, Mahamat was given the rank of major afterwards.
6. He led forces when he took part in the command of Chadian forces during the Battle of Am Dam, where his army defeated the rebels.
7. In January 2013, General Mahamat was appointed second in command of the Chadian Special Forces in Mali under General Oumar Bikimo.
8. On 22 February, he led his army against rebels in the Adrar al-Ifoghas mountains in Northern Mali leading to the Battle of al-Ifoghas. They eliminated a rebel base said to be of “significant importance”, inflicting heavy losses upon the rebels but also losing twenty-six men in the process, including Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam, a commander of Special Forces. Mahmud took full command of the FATIM and has since been leading operations against rebels in the North.
9. Mahamat, alongside his Transitional Military Council, is expected to lead the nation for 18 months.
