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Who are the rebels that killed Chadian president Deby?

Front for Change and Concord in Chad, FACT, is a political-military group mainly based in northern part of the country founded by dissident army officers in 2016.

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In this April 19, 2021 file photo, Chadian army members are seen during an operation against rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), in Ziguey, Kanem Region, Chad.

Chad’s President Idriss Deby has died of his injuries following clashes with rebels belonging to a group calling itself FACT (the Front for Change and Concord in Chad) in the northern part of the Central African country.

Last week, FACT attacked a border post in the north of the country on election day and claimed independence of Chad’s northern Tibetsi region, which is close to the Libyan border.

Founded in 2016 by former army officers, the group, like opposition politicians and rights groups in Chad, accused Deby of repression in the run-up to the election.

FACT is based in Libya, where it has a non-aggression pact with warlord Khalifa Haftar, who controls much of the country’s east.

Mainly made up of the Saharan Goran people, FACT clashes regularly with the Chadian army.

They built up their base in Libya in the Tibesti mountains, which straddle northern Chad and part of southern Libya.

On Sunday, rebels said that they had captured garrisons near Chad’s northern borders with Niger and Libya.

The group had advanced hundreds of kilometres south through the vast country in a few days.

But the Chadian military appeared to have slowed its advance about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from N'Djamena.

The American and British embassies issued warnings about a possible assault on the capital during the weekend.

A long history of rebellions

The central African nation has had a long history of rebellions during the 30-year reign of Deby.

In 2019, French armed forces intervened in northern Chad and launched air strikes at an armed group coming in from Libya.

In 2008, clashes reached the gate of the presidential palace before Chad’s army repelled rebel forces and pursued them eastward toward the Sudanese border.

On several occasions, Deby accused neighboring countries of supporting the rebel movements.

Chad, a former French colony, is home to France's military Operation Barkhane, which deploys troops across the continent to fight extremist groups.

Chadian soldiers also have long battled militants from the extremist group Boko Haram.

Some 330,000 Chadians are internally displaced, the majority in the volatile Lake Chad region where Boko Haram fighters are most active.
READ MORE: Chad's Deby wins re-election, extending 30 years in power