Chad’s longtime president Idriss Déby dies after fight against rebels

Chad President Idriss Déby — who ruled the central African country for over 30 years — died Tuesday of wounds suffered on the battlefield during a fight against rebels, the military announced.

The stunning announcement on national media came just hours after officials had declared the 68-year-old the winner of the April 11 election, paving the way for him to stay in power for six more years. The military said Déby had taken “the heroic lead in combat operations against terrorists who had come from Libya.”