Chad President Idriss Déby, one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders, died in clashes with opposition rebel groups, an army spokesperson announced Tuesday.
The death of the 68-year-old president, who first came to power in 1990 after successfully leading a coup against the former government, comes one day after he had seemingly secured a sixth term in office with an overwhelming win in the country's presidential election.
Reuters reported that Déby's campaign on Monday had announced that he was visiting troops battling rebel groups based across the northern border in Libya, though the news agency noted that the exact cause of death was not immediately clear.
In a state television broadcast, army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna and a group of military officers he called the National Council of Transition officially announced Déby's death.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/africa/549141-president-of-chad-dies-in-clash-with-rebels