Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Subscribers can adjust their newsletter settings to receive Africa Watch by email every week.
Three weeks after President Idriss Deby was killed in battle in late April, the transitional military council that seized control of Chad in the wake of his death moved to solidify its hold on power this week, naming a new government filled with holdovers from Deby’s regime. The move by the council, which is headed by the former president’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, threatens to fuel tensions in an already volatile political situation.
Those tensions grew bloody last week, when security forces used live ammunition to violently disrupt demonstrations against military rule in the capital, N’Djamena, killing at least six protesters. Authorities also broke up new demonstrations that erupted in a southern town last weekend.