Chad's junta on March 13 opened [9] delayed peace talks with rebel and opposition groups in Qatar. But things got off to a bad start [10] when one of the main rebel outfits–the Front for Change & Concord in Chad (FACT [11])–walked out amid confusion over Doha's role as a mediator. Chad was plunged into uncertainty last April when long-time ruler Idriss Déby was killed [11] while commanding troops combating a FACT offensive. Power was then seized by Déby's 38-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, who outlined an 18-month transition. The Doha talks are considered a precursor to a national dialogue [12] that the younger Déby is organizing before planned elections. But in a country that has experienced decades [13] of rebellion and state repression, things are unlikely [14] to proceed smoothly. Just last month a phone conversation surfaced [15] in which Timan Erdimi—head of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR [16]), one of the rebel groups present in Doha—discussed plans to oust Déby using the Kremlin-linked mercenary Wagner Group [17]. (The New Humanitarian [19])
