Former rebels as ministers: Chad's new unity government

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Chad's new unity government is the result of the country's national dialogue aimed at relieving the country's political tensions. A number of former rebel leaders were invited to take part in the talks to ease tensions in the country.

Tom Erdimi, Chad's new Higher Education Minister, was one such rebel leader who returned to his country after years in exile.

Assileck Halata Mahamat, the country's new Minister of Urbanism, is another such leader.

Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power in April 2021 after his father who was killed fighting insurgents, led the reconciliation efforts.

"The mission of our government is specific and it will consist in leading our country towards the first free and fair elections in its political history," Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo, a former opposition politician, said on Facebook.

Some rebel groups, such as the powerful Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which threatened to march on the capital last year, boycotted the dialogue.

The country's President at first promised to hold elections within 18 months but just recently postponed them by two years.

Since its independence in 1960, Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, has experienced periodic revolutions and instability. The talks are faced with major challenges, such as time and the absence of two major armed groups.