Sharjah24 – Reuters: Thousands of people attended the funeral of Chad's slain leader Idriss Deby on Friday, with French President Emmanuel Macron leading tributes to the long-ruling strongman whose death in a battle with rebels has thrown the country into crisis.
Macron said France would not let anyone threaten the stability of its former colony - a reflection of worries that more turmoil will hamper the fight against Islamist militants across the Sahel region.
Deby, a lynchpin in Western security strategy, was killed on Monday in a battle against a rebel army led by dissident army officers who are not linked to jihadists, according to Chadian authorities.
France also supported a transition to democracy in Chad, Macron said in his speech to mourners, after a military council took power following Deby's death.
The African Union's Peace and Security Council expressed "grave concern" about the military takeover and urging the authorities to "expeditiously" move to hand power over to civilians.
The military council has said it intends to oversee an 18-month transition to elections while leading the response to the rebel offensive.
Deby's coffin, draped in a national flag, was carried on a military truck flanked by a motorcycle escort. Weeping swelled from the crowd and a 21-gun salute boomed across the city.
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