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| Timan Erdimi (centre), leader of the rebel Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), greets relatives and supporters at N'Djamena International Airport, Chad, on August 18, 2022 [Aurelie Bazzara-Kibangula/AFP] |
One of Chad’s most prominent rebel leaders, Timan Erdimi, has returned to the country after 17 years in exile, days ahead of the start of national talks aimed at paving the way for elections after the military seized power last year.
Erdimi, 67, head of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), left Chad in 2005 and he had been living in exile in Qatar for at least a decade. His armed group had attempted to overthrow his uncle, Chad’s former president Idriss Deby, first in 2008 and again in 2019.
Failing to topple Deby in 2008, his UFR continued to threaten the government and in 2019 UFR-linked fighters advanced from Libya deep into Chadian territory before their convoy was destroyed by French fighter jets.
A second rebel leader Mahamat Nouri, head of the Union for Democracy and Development (UFDD), was reported landing shortly after Erdimi.
Hundreds gathered to welcome the rebel chief, who was wearing a white robe and turban.
Nouri was defence minister under the former president before he defected. He was detained in France in 2019 on suspicion of crimes against humanity over recruiting child soldiers in Chad and Sudan. He was released the following year on health grounds.