On Saturday, the U.S. State Department ordered non-essential diplomats at the American embassy in Chad to leave due to potential rebel attacks on the capital. In addition to non-essential embassy staff, the department also instructed the families of U.S. personnel stationed in the country to evacuate, citing the movement of armed groups toward the capital, N'Djamena. The department's travel warning stated, "Armed non-governmental groups in northern Chad have moved south and appear to be heading toward N'Djamena." The warning added, "Due to their increasing proximity to the capital and the possibility of violence erupting in the city, non-essential U.S. government personnel have been ordered to leave Chad via commercial airlines."
On another note, preliminary results released by the electoral commission indicated that Chadian President Idriss Déby made significant gains in the presidential elections held on April 11, which could extend his nearly three-decade rule. A group of rebels based in Libya, calling itself the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, attacked a Chadian border point in the north of the country on election day. Déby (68 years old) is considered one of the Western allies in the fight against Islamist militants in West and Central Africa and is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, though there are signs of growing discontent with his management of the country's oil wealth. Chad, a landlocked country, is home to nearly half a million refugees from neighboring countries; Sudan, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic. Additionally, there are approximately 330,000 internally displaced Chadians, mostly in the troubled Lake Chad region, where Boko Haram fighters are active.
