DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
Chad’s military government signed a pledge Monday with more than 40 rebel groups and opposition figures ahead of planned national reconciliation talks, though the deal did not include the country’s main rebel group.
Under the terms of the deal in
Doha, those who signed have agreed to a cease-fire ahead of the Aug. 20 talks
planned in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena. Chad’s junta also agreed to “not
take any military or police operations against the signing groups” in neighboring
countries.
However, the Front for Change
and Concord in Chad, the main rebel group in the country, did not sign the
pledge. The shadowy group, known by its French acronym FACT, is
blamed for the 2021 killing of Chad’s longtime President Idriss Deby Itno,
who had ruled the country since 1990.
That immediately called into
question whether the deal would be enough to ensure the success of the talks as
a planned 18-month transition from military rule to democracy winds down.
We hope “other groups will
join the march of reconciliation and peace, with a view to achieving the
aspirations and dreams of the Chadian people,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told those gathered for the signing ceremony.
“The initial peace agreement we are celebrating today will be an important
turning point towards stability and prosperity for the Chadian people.”
“It is no secret that the
negotiations faced many challenges which were addressed through your estimated
efforts,” Sheikh Mohammed added.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres commended the Chadian parties “for their efforts in the pursuit of
peace, which are bearing fruit today,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Guterres addressed the signing ceremony in a video message.
The European Union praised the
signed pledge as “an important step for the transition” and urged all parties
to join it to speed a return to “constitutional order” in Chad.
“This would allow the launch
of a truly inclusive national dialogue, which should start without further
delay,” the EU said.
U.S. State Department
spokesperson Ned Price similarly commended the efforts made by those in Chad
and Qatar to reach the pledge, calling it “a significant development in Chad’s
transitional period.”
The
talks began in March in Qatar. The challenges during the negotiations
include some 20 rebel groups walking out of the talks in July, accusing the
military government under Deby’s 38-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, of
“harassments, intimidation, threats and disinformation” amid the negotiations.
Rebels have called for Deby to
declare he would not run in any coming elections, though the military junta has
insisted that can only be decided in the national dialogue talks. The pledge
signed Monday in Qatar by 42 of 47 Chadian rebel groups and opposition figures
involved in the talks did not include any prohibition on Deby running in any
coming vote.
In a statement before the
ceremony, FACT said it rejected the accord as those taking part in the national
dialogue would be not be treated equally and that it wanted rebel prisoners
released as well. However, it maintained it remained ready for future talks.
Chad’s Foreign Minister
Mahamat Zene Cherif also signed the deal on behalf of his country, though
Deby had been in Doha on Saturday to meet Qatar’s ruling emir ahead of the
signing ceremony.
Chad had grown frustrated by
the 30 years of rule by Deby’s father, leading to years of rebel uprisings in
the former French colony that borders Cameroon, the Central African Republic,
Libya, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. Unrest in those surrounding countries have
seen Chadian rebel forces hide across the border. - AP
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