Chad to try rebel soldiers accused of killing president

Chad will on Monday beginning trying 150 rebels accused of causing the death of President Idriss Déby. The trial will take place in Kléssoum, in a high security prison, a local news website reported - citing judicial sources.

The suspects belong to the Front for Concord and Change in Chad (FACT), the rebel movement which launched an offensive to overthrow Chad's goverment from its rear bases in Libya in 2021.

They are being charged with terrorism, enlisting child soldiers, mercenarism, undermining state security, and assassination of a sitting president.

Idriss Deby was killed on the frontline in April of 2021 while overseeing the army's operations to drive back the rebels. He had just won a new mandate in a vote criticized as fraudulent.

With the help of France, Chad's new military rulers were able to stop the rebel advance.

Nearly two years since Deby's death, negotiations between rebel movement and the Chadian government have stalled.

The group has boycotted peacebuilding talks, demanding the release from jail of its members.