Chad military council rules out negotiations with rebels

Chad’s military council has ruled out any negotiations with insurgents, or to accept the offer of ceasefire talks with rebels it has been fighting since the unexpected death of president Idriss Déby.

The military council had taken over power after Deby’s death while his son, Mahamat Deby, was named the head of the council to oversee an 18-month transition to elections.

In the wake of the announcement, opposition politicians and rebels have condemned the army takeover, calling it a coup and on Sunday, the major rebel group, Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), called for negotiations to which the council rejected.

FACT, had said it was willing to discuss a political settlement, but did not endorse the “coup that brought Gen Mahamat Déby, to power.”

But the military council said it would not negotiate with rebels it was at war with.

“Faced with this situation, that is endangering Chad and the stability of the entire region, it is not the time for mediation or negotiations with outlaws,” military council spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said in a statement.

“They are rebels, which is why we are bombing them. We are waging war, that’s all.”

Agouna added that some of the rebels had fled into neighbouring Niger Republic and urged the Nigerien authorities to “facilitate the capture and bringing to justice, these war criminals.

“The leader of FACT, Mahamat Mahadi Ali, is being sought for war crimes in Libya, so we cannot negotiate with rebels.”