US, UK Order Citizens to Leave Chad as Rebels Near Capital

Femi Ashekun/

Both US and UK have ordered their citizens and non-essential diplomatic staff to leave Chad as rebels approach capital, Ndjamena, from two directions.

Rebel advance comes as early election results show President Idriss Deby on course to win sixth term in office.

Deby, who seized power in 1990 at the head of an armed rebellion, is a staunch ally of France and the United States in the fight against Islamist militants in the arid Sahel region.

“Due to their growing proximity to N’Djamena and the possibility for violence in the city, non-essential US government employees have been ordered to leave Chad by commercial airline,” the US State Department said in a statement.

The British government yesterday urged its citizens to leave because, it said, two armed convoys from the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) were advancing towards the capital.

Large numbers of heavily armed Chad security forces were patrolling the streets of the capital this morning, a witness said.

Partial provisional results have given Deby a strong lead in the April 11 poll despite signs of growing discontent over his handling of the nation’s oil wealth.

Deby, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, has successfully put down a string of rebellions since taking power, sometimes with military assistance from France.