- Chad's new ruling junta said on Sunday it would not negotiate with rebels in the north of the poor Sahel country.
- On Saturday the rebels of the Libya-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said they were prepared to observe a ceasefire.
- However, junta spokesperson said the two sides were at war.
Chad's new ruling junta said on Sunday it would not negotiate with rebels in the north of the poor Sahel country and asked for help from neighbouring Niger to capture their leader.
"The time is not for mediation, nor for negotiation with outlaws," Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesperson of the military council that took power last week following the shock death of veteran leader Idriss Deby Itno.
On Saturday the rebels of the Libya-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said they were prepared to observe a ceasefire, but a junta spokesperson said the two sides were at war.
Agouna said:
Deby reportedly died in battle early last week after fighting in which hundreds of FACT rebels were killed, according to the army.
On Sunday, claiming that FACT leader Mahamat Mahadi Ali had fled into Niger, the junta appealed to help from its neighbour to track him down.
"Chad calls for the cooperation and solidarity of Niger... to facilitate the capture and bringing to justice of these war criminals," Agouna said in a statement.
Deby was buried last Friday in a state funeral attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.
France, the former colonial power in Chad, threw its support behind Deby's son Mahamat, who took the helm as head of the junta with a pledge to hold elections in 18 months.
Chad was thrown into turmoil by Deby's death, which was announced on Tuesday, just the day after he was declared the winner of an April 11 election - giving him a sixth mandate after 30 years at the helm.
He was a linchpin in the fight against the Sahel's jihadist insurgency, and Macron pledged at the ceremony: "France will never let anyone, either today or tomorrow, challenge Chad's stability and integrity."
Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up for one of News24's 33 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. Special newsletters are available to subscribers.