FACTBOX-Chad’s Deby, “cowboy of the sands”

April 13, 2006 — Chad President Idriss Deby said N’Djamena was under government control on Thursday after rebels aiming to oust him attacked the capital.

Here are some key facts about Deby:

– Deby was born into the northern Zaghawa tribe in 1952 in Fada, near the border with Sudan in northeastern Chad. He trained at a French military college and learned to pilot helicopters at a base in northern France.

– After returning from military training France in 1979, Deby became President Hissene Habre’s chief of staff and was credited with major victories over rebel forces in the 1980s. He won a reputation as a brave and clever tactician. French military sources dubbed him a “cowboy of the sands”.

– Deby rose to power in 1990, leading a rebel army swathed in desert headgear in a lightning three-week offensive launched from neighbouring Sudan’s Darfur region to topple Habre, a man accused of instigating tens of thousands of political murders.

– After three months of provisional government, a charter was approved with Deby as president in February 1991. He has been re-elected twice in 1996 and 2001, but international observers noted irregularities in the election process.

– Chad’s constitution was changed in a July referendum, removing a two-term limit for heads of state and an age limit of 70 for presidential candidates, clearing the way for Deby to stand again in May. Two thirds of those who voted supported the change. Opposition supporters boycotted the vote.

– At the end of 2005, eight anti-rebel groups opposed to Deby said they had formed a military alliance — the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC) — to try to overthrow him. Deby accuses Sudan of backing the insurgents.

(Reuters)