The trial will be held at the maximum-security prison in Klessoum, near the capital, according to unofficial information from local media.

The defendants face charges of terrorism, forced recruitment of children, mercenarism, undermining the State’s security, and assassination of a sitting president, according to the reports on their case files.

Chad’s President Idriss Deby died in April 2021 at the age of 69 while leading his country’s army offensive against Islamist groups based on islets in Lake Chad, a few weeks after his re-election.

Negotiations between the Chadian Government and the FACT to end the domestic conflict are currently at an impasse.

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