Deby’s death and Chad’s next day: This is what the army announced

Army says 18-month interim gov’t to be headed by Deby’s son as it imposes nationwide curfew and shutters borders.

Chad’s military has said President Idriss Deby has died from wounds sustained during a visit to front-line soldiers battling a rebel group, just after being declared the winner of a presidential election that would have handed him a sixth term in office. Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, was swiftly named interim president by a transitional council of military officers, army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said on state television on Tuesday. “​The president of the republic, head of state, supreme chief of the army Idriss Deby Itno just drew his last breath while defending the nation’s integrity o​n the battlefield,” Agouna, wearing a red beret and army fatigues, said surrounded by soldiers.