In interview from capital, Saleh Kebzabo says he wants powerful rebels to join transitional government

Chad’s new prime minister has said that uniting the population “is the only way forward” for the chronically unstable African country after its president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, appointed him to head an interim national unity administration.

Saleh Kebzabo, 75, a former opposition figure and journalist, has been tasked with leading the country towards the first free and fair elections in its political history.

Déby had ruled for 30 years and won a sixth term in elections last week

Chad’s president, Idriss Déby, has died from wounds sustained in combat, the country’s military has said, sending shockwaves through the region as rebel forces continued to advance on the capital N’Djamena.

The extraordinary announcement of the 68-year-old’s battlefield death on Tuesday came days after an election in which he won a sixth term in office, extending his 30-year, increasingly authoritarian rule. Some observers fear there could be extensive fighting in the strategically important central African country before a stable political settlement is reached.

As long-serving president Idriss Deby seems set for election win, fighting has broken out between army and rebels in country’s north

The US has ordered its non-essential diplomats out of Chad over fears of insurgent attacks on the capital, as early election results show president Idriss Deby is poised to continue his three-decade rule of the African nation.

With armed groups appearing to be advancing on the capital, N’Djamena, the US State Department on Saturday ordered non-essential diplomats and families of American personnel to leave the country.