INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Chad's transitional president General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno embarked Tuesday on an official visit to Russia "at the invitation" of
President Vladimir Putin," the Chad presidency said on its Facebook page.The Kremlin confirmed the visit and said the two leaders would meet
Wednesday to discuss "perspectives for the development of Russian-Chadian relations in different areas along with current regional and
international issues."Chad, where the French army still retains a military contingent, is France's last close partner in the North African
Sahel region following the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023 and Niger in
December.Those three countries have since all moved closer to Russia, especially militarily following the end of Operation Barkhane, which
ran from 2014 to 2022 and saw France lead a military counterinsurgency against Islamic insurgents in the Sahel.Russia, namely through
mercenaries of the Wagner private military outfit, is also present and influential in the Central African Republic, Libya and Sudan, which
border Chad.Mahamat Deby was proclaimed head of an army junta two years ago after rebels killed his father Idriss Deby Itno, who had seized
power in a coup and ruled the desert nation with an iron fist for three decades.Chad's army is generally regarded as a mainstay of the
anti-jihadist fight in the region.The transitional regime under the general has indicated that presidential elections will be held by the
end of this year, having been urged by the international community to stick to an initial pledge to hold elections within 18 months.
