DR Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi has been appointed by his peers of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to lead efforts aimed at resolving the situation in Chad after deadly demonstrations against extending the life of the transition.
The situation in Chad following the October 20 demonstrations, which left some fifty people dead and 300 injured, has been worrisome for the ECCAS grouping.
The sub-regional organisation met on October 25 at the prodding of its current chairman, Felix Tshisekedi, to examine how the tragic events in Chad could be averted in the future.
Of the eleven member states, four were represented by their presidents at the meeting held in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They included Mahamat Idriss Deby of Chad, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic and Mr Tshisekedi as their host.
They “condemned the use of violence for political purposes”, without specifically blaming any party to the crisis.
In terms of decisions, they appointed Thisékédi as facilitator in the Chadian crisis, with the mission of “recreating confidence between the various parties to the conflict”.
The Congolese president will be joined by his Minister for Regional Integration and the President of the ECCAS Commission, the Angolan Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo.
In an address to the nation on October 23, Chad’s transitional president, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, accused the Les Transformateurs de Succes Masra and Wakit Tama of being behind what he called “a carefully planned insurrection to create chaos in the country”.
The Chadian leader also accused “politico-military groups that are not signatories to the Doha agreements” of having had direct relations with those responsible for the violence of 20 October.
The young general came to power in April 2021 after the death of his father, Marshal Idriss Déby Itno, killed in an army counter-offensive against rebels of the Front for Alternance and Concord in Chad (FACT).
At the head of a Transitional Military Council (TMC), he committed himself to a transition of 18 months, renewable once, before changing his mind last June.
The Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue (DNIS) launched last August proposed in its conclusions released on Saturday 10 October that he can lead the transition for two more years.
At the same time, he was allowed the possibility of running in the next presidential election, to the great displeasure of some the opposition and civil society.
AC/lb/as/APA