How Deby’s death will affect the Sahel and beyond

Chad’s neighbours and Western allies anxious about stability of nation central in fight against region’s armed groups.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – The sudden death this week of Chad’s longtime President Idriss Deby has thrown the country, as well as its neighbours and international partners, into disarray. The 68-year-old died after succumbing to wounds sustained while commanding troops fighting off advancing rebels who go by the name Front for Change and Concord in Chad, or FACT, according to Chad’s military. Over the course of Deby’s three-decade hold on power, Chad has remained one of the poorest countries in Africa, but it has also come to be seen as a military linchpin in the escalating fight against armed groups in Central and West Africa.