Chadian authorities: rebels threaten to withdraw from Doha talks
On 4 April, one of the main rebel groups, the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (CCMSR), which is very active in southern Libya and northern Chad, announced its withdrawal from the negotiations.
The rebels who are discussing in Qatar with the Chadian authorities to reach a peace agreement threatened this Saturday, June 18 to withdraw from the talks.
They invoke, in a statement, “provocations and attempted aggression” of the government delegation.
More than three months after the start of the “pre-dialogue”, discussions are stalling between the rebels and the Chadian government.
This “Pre-Doha Dialogue”, open to about fifty armed groups, promised for many months and initially scheduled for 27 February, had been postponed at the last minute to 13 March.
It must bring them to the table of an “inclusive national dialogue” with the political and armed oppositions.
The aim is to achieve a new Constitution and “free and democratic” elections.
In a joint statement, the armed groups accused “the government delegation with the complicity of infiltrated agents provocateurs” of “disrupting negotiations through acts of harassment and intimidation, provocations and attempted attacks with a view to creating physical incidents.”
If the rebels “reaffirm their will to reach a peace agreement […] in a reconciled and prosperous Chad,” the armed groups “reserve the right to suspend their participation or withdraw from the talks.”
“The government will bear full responsibility for this,” they said.
Each party must take a step towards the other
“Why would we sabotage a dialogue that we ourselves wanted?” Abderaman Koulamallah, spokesman for the junta-appointed government, told AFP.
“The negotiations are progressing well, each side must take a step towards the other,” he continued.
Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno has been appointed to head a Transitional Military Council (TMC) composed of 15 generals, following the announcement on 20 April 2021 of the death of his father, Marshal Idriss Déby.
The latter was killed at the front against rebels, after ruling the country with an iron fist for 30 years.
