France Voices Concern about Chad's Stability after Deby's Death

The French government is concerned for Chad's political stability after the sudden death of its longtime ruler Idriss Déby, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.

"It worries me. We must be very vigilant regarding the stability of the situation," Le Drian said on France 2 television. "Is the transitional military council going to ensure Chad's stability and cohesion?"

Moreover, Le Drian acknowledged that under Chad's constitution, the national assembly president Haroun Kabadi should have ensured the transition.

"But he refused because of the exceptional security situation," the Foreign Minister said.

He added that the council needed to clarify "how the Chadian army is going to fulfil its commitments to the common Sahel force."

Asked if he thought the troops would be pulled, he replied: "I can't imagine it... I don't believe the transitional military council will go back on its commitments."

The announcement of Déby's death, from battlefield wounds, plunged Chad into insecurity and alarmed Western leaders who saw him as a key ally in the restless region.

Rebel forces have vowed to pursue their advance toward the capital N'Djamena, in which Deby's 37-year-old son Mahamat Idriss Déby has assumed the presidency as head of a military council.

In the same context, opposition parties have denounced an "institutional coup d'etat," raising the spectre of a political vacuum even as the country along with other West African nations are struggling against entrenched jihadist insurgencies.