After fierce battles in which the president was killed, the Chadian army declares victory over the northern rebels

The Chadian army declared victory in its weeks-long battle with rebels in the north of the country, which resulted in the death of President Idriss Deby on the battlefield after 30 years in power.

Crowds chanted in the capital N’Djamena – on Sunday – as soldiers returned from the front line in a column of tanks and armored vehicles.

“The triumphant return of the army to the barracks today heralds the end of operations and the victory of Chad,” the army chief of general staff, Abkar Abdel-Karim Daoud, told reporters.

At an army base in N’Djamena, dozens of captured rebels sat at a parade in front of journalists.

Fighters from the Front for Change and Concord crossed the border from Libya in April to confront Déby, and his death while visiting army forces plunged the country into crisis.

The military council took power led by Mohamed Idris Entou, son of the late president, pledging to oversee a transitional period of 18 months, until elections are held.

Politicians from the opposition and civil society denounced the takeover, calling it a coup, and calling on their supporters to protest in the streets