The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will receive next Monday in Paris his Chadian counterpart, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, to discuss the latest developments in the African country, immersed in a troubled moment of political transition and the scene at the end of the year of an attempted coup d’état.
This transition, as well as the security situation in the face of terrorism in the Sahel — where countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali have ordered the withdrawal of French forces amid increased Russian influence in the region — will be the two main points to be discussed by the two leaders during Monday’s working lunch.
Mahamat Déby Itno, before the coup, had to deal with the aftermath of the violent crackdown on organized protests in October 2022 that resulted in half a hundred deaths.
Officially known as the «transitional president», he described the protests as an «organized insurrection» supported by «foreign powers» and accused the demonstrators of «cold-bloodedly killing civilians and murdering members of the security forces» with a view to generating a «civil war».
The protests erupted after the military junta led by Mahamat Déby Itno decided to extend for another two years the mandate of the military leader, who had initially planned to step down to return power to a civilian government. He was appointed president by the army in 2021 following the death of his father, Idriss Déby, who had been at the helm of the country since 1990.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
