By John Ikani
Chad signed a deal on Monday with more than 40 opposition groups to launch national peace talks following five months of peace-building talks in Qatar between rebel factions and Chad’s interim military government headed by Mahamat Idriss Déby.
Under the terms of the deal in Doha, those who signed have agreed to a cease-fire ahead of the Aug. 20 talks planned in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena. Chad’s junta also agreed to “not take any military or police operations against the signing groups” in neighboring countries.
Since March, Qatar has been mediating between opposition groups and the military government of Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a general who seized power after his father died in a battle with rebels last year.
Deby has said the dialogue would be a first step toward planning long-awaited elections. But it has not been clear if the armed groups would participate in the talks as the terms for their involvement were under discussion.
“The agreement paves the way for the start of the comprehensive and sovereign national dialogue in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, which aims to achieve comprehensive national reconciliation,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Deby has been in Doha since Friday, participating in the final stage of negotiations. On Sunday, his office said a deal was imminent without specifying exactly when it would be signed.
However, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), the main rebel group, did not sign the deal despite last-minute efforts by Qatar’s mediators.
In a statement released in Doha, FACT said it “rejects the accord that was put to signatories on Monday”.
It added that participants in the national dialogue would not be treated equally and demanded a new committee be set up to organise the talks, as well as the release of rebel prisoners in government prisons.
“However FACT remains available for dialogue anywhere and anytime,” added the statement from the group, which is estimated to have between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters.
FACT fighters led the rebel offensive in which Deby’s father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had been president for 30 years, was killed.
Chad has had little stability since its independence in 1960, and the coming talks are being widely watched, as the country is seen as a key ally in international efforts to counter Islamic extremists fighting around the region.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said the talks, to be held in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, would seek “inclusive national reconciliation”.
Some 42 of the 47 groups represented in the Doha talks will sign the accord, officials said.
