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Chad rebels ready to observe ceasefire, discuss settlement: rebel spokesperson

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Rebels in northern Chad are ready to observe a ceasefire and to discuss a “political settlement” after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last week and the fighting that followed, a rebel spokesperson said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the rebels were preparing to advance on the capital N’Djamena, a spokesperson said, following the funeral of Deby.

Deby’s death on Monday, just after he won an election to extend his 30-year rule, shocked the Central African country which has long been a Western ally against militants.

A military council headed by Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, seized power after his death, saying it intends to oversee an 18-month transition to elections.

The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the border from northern neighbour Libya on April 11 in their thousands, according to analysts’ estimates.

Unpacking the political crisis in Chad and Somalia:

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