CHAD: DEBY SHAKES UP MILITARY LEADERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 001672 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, AF/RSA, INR, AND DRL; LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICAWATCHERS; E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2015 TAGS: PGOV PHUM MARR MOPS CD SUBJECT: CHAD: DEBY SHAKES UP MILITARY LEADERSHIP REF: A. NDJAMENA 1668 ¶B. NDJAMENA 1583 ¶C. NDJAMENA IIR 6 910 0025 Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Kathleen FitzGibbon for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. President Idriss Deby carried out a military shake-up on November 15. The changes include the chiefs of the Armed Forces, Gendarmerie, Nomadic Guard, and National Police. The most surprising change was the removal of Deby relative, General Mahamat Saleh Ibrahim, who had served as Nomadic Guard Commandant since Deby came to power. Two weeks earlier, the Government announced the dissolution of the Presidential Guard and replaced it with a new presidential security force. Many of the newly-appointed commanders are relatives of Deby, the new Armed Forces chief Tirgo, and the new Gendarmerie Commander. These changes come in the aftermath of military desertions over the past two months and represent an attempt to weed out disloyal officers and instill some discipline into the military. End Summary. ¶2. (C) On November 15, two days after attacks on two military installations, the Government of Chad announced changes within the top ranks of the military leadership. (Ref A) Deby dismissed Armed Forces Chief Mahamat Saleh Kaya and replaced him with the former director of the Gendarmerie Banayanan Kossingar, who was promoted from colonel to general in order to assume the position. Kaya's removal came as no surprise after he refused to fire on the military deserters in the east and persuaded Deby to negotiate instead. (Ref B) One general who was offered the position told P/E officer on November 16 that he refused the job. In his opinion, Deby had to reach down to find someone that he could trust and that Banayanan is a tough, no-nonsense professional who can be counted on to do a good job. Embassy officers have had a strong working relationship with Banayanan in his capacity as gendarme chief. Kaya was named as a military advisor in the Presidency. ¶3. (C) The more surprising move was Deby's replacement of his uncle, Mahamat Saleh Ibrahim, who was the Commandant of the Nomadic Guard with an ethnic Gorane, Colonel Moussa Sougui Haware. Ibrahim was considered Deby's most loyal family and military member, who according to a Deby family member, usually keeps his opinions to himself. He recently disagreed with Deby over the path the country was on and paid for it with his job. ¶4. (C) Presidential military advisor Moussa Haroun Tirgo was named the director of the National Police. Another family source said that this appointment may have been made so that Tirgo is also in charge of police intelligence, which Deby may now consider essential to his ability to remain in power. The new Gendarmerie Commander is Tirgo's cousin, Col. Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud. Another Deby relative, Colonel Abakar Youssouf Mahamat Itno was moved from the now defunct Presidential Guard Commander to the position of Army Chief. ¶5. (C) Many of the newly appointed regional military and gendarmerie commanders are related to Deby, Tirgo, or the newly-appointed Gendarmerie Commander Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud. There are more ethnic Goranes in key positions. Another important appointment was that of Colonel Mahamat Souleyman Ousmane as the regional military commander for the Lake Chad area. An ethnic Zaghawa, he has a reputation for being exceptionally brutal and reportedly may have served prison time in the United States for murder. ¶6. (C) The change in military leadership follows on the heels of the dissolution of the Republican Guard and its replacement with the Direction Generale de Service and Securite des Institutions de l'Etat (DGSSIE). The DGSSIE was created to provide security for the President and other high level government officials and to defend "independence, national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity" of Chad. The DGSSIE will have 1,640 personnel and is attached to the Presidency and commanded by officers nominated by the President by decree. ¶7. (C) Meanwhile, the Government continues its investigation into the attacks on the two military installations earlier in the week. The Government said that it has arrested some of the participants. Human rights groups are telling us that some of those arrested have already been executed by order of the President. A retired general has told us that former Nomadic Guard Commander Mahamat Saleh Ibrahim's name has been circulated as being possibly complicit in the attacks. His bodyguards are being held. In addition, a former Deby ally, Loum Hinansou Laina, is also under suspicion of having supported the deserters as is the youngest brother of Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji. - - - - COMMENT - - - - ¶8. (C) Deby's doubts about the military's loyalty and subsequent military shake-up come as no surprise in the aftermath of recent military desertions and attacks on military installations. He appears to have put loyal officers, many of them relatives and ethnic Gorane, in key positions. Their immediate challenge is to stabilize the security situation. Nonetheless, the removal of Mahamat Saleh Ibrahim could cause him more family problems in the future if he does not find an acceptable position for him. TAMLYN NNNN