The time is not for mediation, nor for negotiation with outlaws, Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesman of the military council that took power in Chad last week following the killing of President Idriss Deby Itno has said. “They are rebels, which is why we are bombing them. We are waging war, that’s all.” On April 24, rebels of the Libya-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said they were ready for a ceasefire. Deby died in fighting, the army announced last week, a day after he was declared winner of elections that would have given him a sixth mandate after 30 years as President. The junta also asked Niger to help track down FACT leader Mahamat Mahadi Ali, who it says has fled into Chad’s neighbour.
