Darfur24-Nyala.

Chadian president Idriss Deby Itno has died on the battlefield after thirty years in power, the army announced on state TV on Tuesday.

Deby has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield over the weekend , army spokesman General Azem said in a statement read out on state television.

The circumstances of Deby’s death could not immediately be independently confirmed due to the remote location. According to France 24 satellite TV.

Rebels based across the northern frontier with Libiya  , attaked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometers south across the desert.

One of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, Idriss Deby came to power in 1990 .

 

Despite the fact that he ruled Chad with an iron fist , he was a key ally of the west it its campaign against Jihadist in the troubled Sahel Region.

 

The army said a military council led by the president’s 37-year-old son Mohamed Idriss Deby, a four star general would replace him.

On Monday , the army had claimed ” a great victory” against the trebles from neighboring Libya, saying it had killed 300 fighters, with the loss of five soldiers in its own ranks during eight day of combat.

Deby was a herder’s son from Zaghawa ethnic group who took the classic path to power through army , and relished the military culture.