"We fight for democracy in Chad, we are not mercenaries"

Mahamat Mahdi Ali, leader of the Front for Alternation and Concord, in an undated image FACT

Halfway between politics and arms, a refugee in France for 25 years, a socialist militant, a graduate in Law and Economics and an eternal guerrilla, Mahamat Mahdi Ali (N'Djamena, 1964), will forever be the leader of the rebel group that ended with the life of Chadian President Idris Déby a month ago. Hidden and in constant movement somewhere between Libya, Chad and Niger for fear of an air attack, the president of the Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad (FACT, for its acronym in French), accuses Paris of endorsing an alleged coup in favor of Déby's son, denies having been defeated and vindicates his role as liberator in a telephone conversation with EL PAÍS. "We are like Garibaldi," he says.

His voice is husky and calm. Affable, but forceful. “Our troops are inside Chad, controlled and flown over at all times by French aviation. That's all I can tell you, ”he says when asked about its location. A week ago, the Chadian Army marched triumphantly through the streets of the capital, N'Djamena, and the Defense Minister claimed that the rebellion was "in disarray." Although he accepts to have suffered casualties, Mahdi Ali denies the major and describes it as lying propaganda. “We have declared a ceasefire, but we are operational. The N'Djamena regime, thanks to French support, is the one who wants to wage war ”, he says.

President Déby and his family had ruled Chad with an iron fist for three decades, giving the opposition no respite and crushing any attempt to overshadow them.

For this reason, his unexpected death from gunshot wounds on the battlefield a few hours after being re-elected for a sixth term caught his next ones off balance.

There was no planned relief.

“He went to the front because he considered that no one could replace him, a mentality typical of any dictator.

He believed himself a

superman

.

That is why we were not surprised by his death, although it was not our objective either.

We saw a helicopter come down to pick someone up, but we didn't know it was him until the next day, ”says Mahdi Ali.

More information

• Former Chadian dictator gets out of prison due to coronavirus

• The silent pandemic hitting Chad

Before announcing his death and in an attempt to avoid internal conflicts, with the rebellion growing strong just 300 kilometers from the capital, the generals bypassed the constitutional procedure and accepted Mahamat Idris Déby, son of the president, as the new strongman. of the regime at the head of a military junta. After describing the deceased as "a great soldier" or "courageous friend", the Elysee gave its quick endorsement to the new regime for the sake of the stability of its great ally in Central Africa and the Sahel in the fight against jihadism.

“What France is doing is defending a dictatorship, a coup,” says Mahdi Ali, “rather than contributing to the emergence of democracy. It is not normal. It is not a question of clans, ethnic groups or warlords, our objective is none other than alternation [in power] and democracy, values ​​that are supposedly in the European ideals. However, everyone is silent. The European Union, the African Union and the UN bow to French interests. The argument that the Chadian regime is a champion in the fight against jihadism is not valid for me, we have also fought it in Libya. The difference is that Déby joined this struggle to remain in power while we do it out of a firm belief against radicalism ”.

The rebel leader, a moderate Muslim, refers to the times when the FACT, a group created by himself in 2016, trained in Libya controlled by Marshal Khalifa Hafter and, hand in hand, they fought the Islamic State. Hence also come the rumors that point to the link between these Chadian rebels with Russian mercenaries, allies of the Libyan leader, and the long shadow of Moscow after the murder of Déby. “Everything is to discredit us, in the fight against the jihadists we also agree with the French and no one reminds us. We fight for democracy in Chad, we are not mercenaries; we are like Garibaldi, not like Bob Denard [French mercenary involved in numerous coups in Africa], ”explains Mahdi Ali.

After the initial confusion over the death of Déby, a member of the minority Zaghawa ethnic group, the reaction of the Chadian Army has managed to stop the rebel advance. “There is a genocide attempt underway as happened in Rwanda. Our detained combatants, especially senior officials of the Gorane ethnic group, are being summarily executed ", denounces the guerrilla leader, who warns of the existence of" tribal speeches "that seek to confuse the international community. "In the FACT are all the ethnic groups of Chad," he concludes.

Meanwhile, in N'Djamena, the new transitional government appointed by the military junta, which integrates historical opponents in an attempt to reduce tension, has already announced the opening of an inclusive negotiation process of which, for now, the FACT, accused of terrorism, he is excluded. “Idris Déby never accepted the dialogue, but the Chadian problem must be settled politically. The transitional Executive cannot be a puppet of the military, it will have to negotiate with us ”, Mahdi Ali concludes.