Chad president Idriss Deby Itno, longtime leader of the African nation, killed on battlefield fighting rebels, military says

N'Djamena, Chad — Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled the central African nation for more than three decades, was killed Tuesday on the battlefield in a fight against rebels, the military announced on national television and radio. The military said that a transitional council will be led by Deby's son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

The stunning announcement came just hours after electoral officials had declared Deby the winner of the April 11 presidential election, paving the way for him to stay in power for six more years.
 
The circumstances of Deby's death could not immediately be independently confirmed due to the remote location of the battlefield. It was not known why the president would have visited the frontlines in northern Chad or participated in ongoing clashes with the rebels who opposed his rule.
 
Deby, a former army commander-in-chief, first came to power in 1990 when his rebel forces overthrew then-President Hissene Habre, who was later convicted of human rights abuses at an international tribunal in Senegal.
 
Over the years Deby had survived numerous armed rebellions and managed to stay in power until this latest insurgency led by a group calling itself the Front for Change and Concord in Chad.

The rebels are believed to have armed and trained in neighboring Libya before crossing into northern Chad on April 11. Their arrival came on the same day that Chad's president sought a sixth term on election day, which several top opposition candidates boycotted.

Deby's regime has waged battle against persistent insurgencies for years, and opposition parities have boycotted previous elections. His state security forces have been accused by international rights group Amnesty International of carrying out "a regime of murder, torture and enforced disappearance of suspected government opponents."