
Inauspicious start for Chad peace talks
Chad’s junta opened delayed peace talks with rebel and opposition groups in Qatar. But things got off to a bad start when one of the main rebel outfitsâthe Front for Change & Concord in Chad (FACT)âwalked out amid confusion over Doha’s role as a mediator. Chad was plunged into uncertainty last April when long-time ruler Idriss DĂ©by was killed while commanding troops combating a FACT offensive. Power was then seized by DĂ©by’s son, Mahamat Idriss DĂ©by, who outlined a transition plan. The Doha talks are considered a precursor to a national dialogue that the younger DĂ©by is organizing before planned elections. But after decades of rebellion and repression, things are unlikely to proceed smoothly. Just last month a phone conversation surfaced in which Timan Erdimi, head of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), one of the rebel groups present in Doha, discussed plans to oust DĂ©by using the Kremlin-linked mercenary Wagner Group. (Image via Twitter)