Chad's military government and opposition rebel groups fighting in the country signed a pledge in Qatar's Doha on Monday, before planned national reconciliation talks later this month in the African nation. However, the main rebel group did not agree to the terms and did not sign the pledge.
A signing ceremony for the agreement, which included the parties agreeing to take part in a national, inclusive dialogue, was attended by more than 30 rebel groups and followed months of talks in the Qatari capital.
Details, such as how the deal will be implemented and how adherence to it will be monitored, were not immediately released.
Under the terms of the deal in Doha, those who signed have agreed to a cease-fire ahead of the Aug. 20 talks planned in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena. Chad's junta also agreed to "not take any military or police operations against the signing groups” in neighboring countries.
However, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, the main rebel group in the country, did not sign the pledge. The shadowy group, known by its French acronym FACT, is blamed for the 2021 killing of Chad’s longtime President Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled the country since 1990.
In July, Qatar’s satellite news network Al Jazeera reported that over 20 rebel groups had withdrawn from the Doha talks. They had accused the military government of "harassments, intimidation, threats and disinformation” amid the negotiations.
Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, speaking at the signing, called on groups that had not signed to join the agreement.
Wealthy Gulf state Qatar, an ally of the United States, facilitated the negotiations.
