afrol News, 5 March - Barely two months after he had agreed to end his rebellion against the government, the leader of Chad's United for Democratic Change (FUC), Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim, was appointed the country's Minister of Defence. The appointment followed the recent resignations of 9 members of the Chadian cabinet.

Considered the most powerful Chadian rebel group, the FUC rebels on 13 April last year put the Chadian capital, N'djamena, under siege. Their attack left hundreds of people, including innocent civilians, dead.

The group agreed to settle its scores with the government of Chad last December when the two opposing sides signed a peace deal in Libya last December.

President Idriss Déby also announced the appointment of other leaders of the rebel movement - Ismael Idriss and Longa Gong Raoul - as Secretary of State for Foreign Relations and Secretary General in charge of Executive National Assembly, respectively.

The new cabinet line-up includes a former Premier, Haroun Kabadi, who has been given the post of Agriculture Minister.

However, Chadian rebels based in the east bordering the troubled region of Darfur refused to bury the hatchet with the N'djamena government. In recent months, tensions brew up between Chad and Sudan, with governments of both countries accusing each other of supporting rebels to destabilise the other.

President Déby on 27 February appointed Delwa Kassiré Coumakoye to replace Pascal Yoadminadji, who died of a brain haemorrhage in a Paris hospital on 24 February, as Prime Minister.

Mr Yoadimnadji, dead at 56, had headed the Chadian government since February 2005. Before that, he had held several government positions, latest as Minister of Agriculture. Reacting to his sudden death, the government issued a statement calling him "a great statesman" and saying his passing away was "a big loss" for the country.

Mr Coumakoye heads the pro-government National Rally for Development and Progress (RNDP) party. He ran against President Déby in the 1996 and 2001 polls and was ranked second.

Mr Coumakoye also held the Premier post between 1994 and 1996 and also became the head of the Parliament Commission for Foreign and International Cooperation until 2004.

Until his recent elevation, Mr Coumakoye was the Minister for Territorial Administration in the government of Mr Yoadimnadji.

President Déby himself has been in power since a 1990 military coup.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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