Explainer: Who are the rebels threatening to take Chad’s capital? – Reuters

Explainer: Who are the rebels threatening to take Chad’s capital? – Reuters

A Chad army tank is seen on the street, as fighters from the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) appeared to be moving toward the capital according to the United States, in N'djamena, Chad April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer Libya-based rebels have set their sights on Chad's capital N'Djamena after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby on Monday. Here are some facts about the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT):WHEN WAS FACT FORMED?FACT was formed in April, 2016, in the build-up to that year's presidential elections. It was established after a violent split from another Chadian rebel group, the Sudan-backed UFDD.WHO ARE THEY?FACT is run by Mahdi Ali Mahamat, a veteran rebel fighter who spent time in exile in France before returning to Libya in 2015. He is from the Dazagada ethnic group from the Barh El Gazal region of central Chad. FACT is made up of many fighters from the same ethnicity.Unlike many other Chadian groups in Libya, FACT fought for Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, said Jerome Tubiana, a researcher specialising on Chad."He gave them unusually heavy equipment - trucks with heavy weapons. Haftar is allowing foreign troops to keep the equipment