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CHAD-POLITICS
Chad appoints new ministers to quell unrest
LIBREVILLE, Nov 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Chadian strongman Idriss Deby has
appointed new defence and security ministers in a cabinet reshuffle following
sustained rebel attacks in the north bordering lawless Libya, state
television said Friday.
The Chadian military has carried out several air strikes in the arid north
since August targeting Libya-based rebels as well as illegal miners whose
arrival in recent years in an area hit by a gold rush has fomented unrest
with locals.
General Daoud Yaya, who formerly headed the gendarmerie, was appointed
defence minister, replacing Bichara Issa who was dropped from the cabinet.
Mahamat Abba Ali Salah, a northerner and the governor of the troubled Lake
Chad region which has been ravaged by attacks staged by Boko Haram jihadists
from Nigeria, was appointed the new interior and security minister.
Oumar Yaya Hissein was named communications minister and government
spokesman.
Former security minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir told AFP that the government
was battling “miners, arms traffickers and slave traders” adding: “The
situation is totally under control.”
Northern Chad is sparsely populated and home to several rebel groups
involved in people trafficking between Chad and neighbouring states Sudan,
Niger and Libya.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2008 hrs