Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
The president of Chad, Idriss Deby, has understood for a while now that Western powers are willing to overlook domestic human rights abuses and repression so long as his military continues to combat extremist groups in the Sahel. This week, France demonstrated that its loyalty to Deby, who has been in office since 1990, runs even deeper, and that it is willing to lend military support of its own to keep him in power.
On Sunday, French Mirage jets carried out strikes against rebels who had crossed into Chadian territory from their base in southern Libya. The strikes, involving warplanes deployed as part of the French-led counterterrorism mission in the region, Operation Barkhane, continued through Wednesday.