2 ms·

My extreme cynicism makes me doubt it happened this time either. Not giving a victory speech and instead rushing into danger only to heroically die sounds like

My extreme cynicism makes me doubt it happened this time either. Not giving a victory speech and instead rushing into danger only to heroically die sounds like a cover-up of either a natural causes death or an internal coup.

rtsil 6y ago
The rebels claimed to have wounded him during the fights so this is more of an admission than a cover-up.
- boomboomsubban 6y ago
  I haven't seen that claim, but even their attack that effortlessly took a border town than was completely repulsed while miraculously killing the president sounds pretty bogus.
  - rtsil 6y ago
    It was an interview(1) of the rebel's leader on RFI radio (in French) earlier today. They apparently realized Deby was there because the combat was extremely violent. They attacked him, he was wounded and evacuated on a helicopter. (1) https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mahdi-ali-idriss-deby-pensait-etre-invincible https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mah...
    - boomboomsubban 6y ago
      That's a bit of credibility, but the rebel leader is on good enough terms with France to get an interview talking about how they assassinated a country's leader? France has military bases in Chad, that seems like an odd connection. I realize these are now conspiracies based on assumptions. I'm not calling for the new government of Chad to be overthrown based on them, it just sounds too much like something the CIA is ultimately behind to me.
      - rtsil 6y ago
        He's not. France froze his assets for being a member of a terrorist organization, and France is the Western power that has always supported Deby and is currently supporting his son. If anything, France has helped the regulary army against the rebels. RFI might be a public radio broadcaster, but that doesn't mean they are only talking to "friends" of France or exclusively conveying the "voice" of France. Quite the contrary, their international coverage is quite good, and much better than the other (private, commercial) French radio stations.
        boomboomsubban 6y ago
        Does RFI have a habit of letting terrorist's voice their point of view on the air? Even if they put out a less biased view than the commercial stations, they still basically exist as a propaganda station. They're only going to broadcast something like this if they want the world to hear it for some reason.
        rtsil 6y ago
        Well, "terrorism" is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? But sure, they regularly interview rebels of all stripes, except Islamist insurgents I think (at least I can't think of one such interview). > they still basically exist as a propaganda station. They're only going to broadcast something like this if they want the world to hear it for some reason. That's a point of view. I've seen them accused of being at the same time pro-regime and pro-opposition/rebels, inside the same countries, all across Africa, regardless of which group France is supporting. So who knows? I've even heard once the officials from an opposition party in an African country during a period of unrest, protesting against the then-current RFI correspondant covering the country and asking for his replacement by another RFI reporter, supposedly more neutral. So, again, it's in the eye of the beholder. Also, being a public radio doesn't necessarily mean they're subservient. We have a national station here which is quite leftist, France Inter. Whenever the government is right-wing (or center-right), it will criticize the government's politics quite severely. Maybe being a civil servant with a lifetime job guarantee helps being less subservient? Or maybe I'm just hopelessly naive.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
More likely this was a "show up at a forward base and visit the troops" type thing and the other guys got their hands on his itinerary and a) dumped a bunch of mortars on his general location b) threw every available asset at said forward base and overwhelmed it.

rtsil 6y ago

The rebels claimed to have wounded him during the fights so this is more of an admission than a cover-up.

boomboomsubban 6y ago
I haven't seen that claim, but even their attack that effortlessly took a border town than was completely repulsed while miraculously killing the president sounds pretty bogus.
- rtsil 6y ago
  It was an interview(1) of the rebel's leader on RFI radio (in French) earlier today. They apparently realized Deby was there because the combat was extremely violent. They attacked him, he was wounded and evacuated on a helicopter. (1) https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mahdi-ali-idriss-deby-pensait-etre-invincible https://soundcloud.com/radiofranceinternationale/mahamat-mah...
  - boomboomsubban 6y ago
    That's a bit of credibility, but the rebel leader is on good enough terms with France to get an interview talking about how they assassinated a country's leader? France has military bases in Chad, that seems like an odd connection. I realize these are now conspiracies based on assumptions. I'm not calling for the new government of Chad to be overthrown based on them, it just sounds too much like something the CIA is ultimately behind to me.
    - rtsil 6y ago
      He's not. France froze his assets for being a member of a terrorist organization, and France is the Western power that has always supported Deby and is currently supporting his son. If anything, France has helped the regulary army against the rebels. RFI might be a public radio broadcaster, but that doesn't mean they are only talking to "friends" of France or exclusively conveying the "voice" of France. Quite the contrary, their international coverage is quite good, and much better than the other (private, commercial) French radio stations.
      - boomboomsubban 6y ago
        Does RFI have a habit of letting terrorist's voice their point of view on the air? Even if they put out a less biased view than the commercial stations, they still basically exist as a propaganda station. They're only going to broadcast something like this if they want the world to hear it for some reason.
        rtsil 6y ago
        Well, "terrorism" is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? But sure, they regularly interview rebels of all stripes, except Islamist insurgents I think (at least I can't think of one such interview). > they still basically exist as a propaganda station. They're only going to broadcast something like this if they want the world to hear it for some reason. That's a point of view. I've seen them accused of being at the same time pro-regime and pro-opposition/rebels, inside the same countries, all across Africa, regardless of which group France is supporting. So who knows? I've even heard once the officials from an opposition party in an African country during a period of unrest, protesting against the then-current RFI correspondant covering the country and asking for his replacement by another RFI reporter, supposedly more neutral. So, again, it's in the eye of the beholder. Also, being a public radio doesn't necessarily mean they're subservient. We have a national station here which is quite leftist, France Inter. Whenever the government is right-wing (or center-right), it will criticize the government's politics quite severely. Maybe being a civil servant with a lifetime job guarantee helps being less subservient? Or maybe I'm just hopelessly naive.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

More likely this was a "show up at a forward base and visit the troops" type thing and the other guys got their hands on his itinerary and a) dumped a bunch of mortars on his general location b) threw every available asset at said forward base and overwhelmed it.