Following an audience with the head of the Chadian junta, Mahamat Déby, former rebel leader Abdelkader Mahamat, alias Baba Laddé, has been appointed head of Chad's intelligence services. A very controversial appointment ...
This was one of the questions from observers: in Chad, what is Baba Laddé's position vis-à-vis the heir of the late President Idriss Déby Itno, Mahamat Déby? The president of the Transitional Military Council (CMT) has been trying for several months to obtain the support of armed groups for the roadmap for the Chadian transition. The Fulani warlord, very influential among rebel groups, Abdelkader Mahamat - better known as Baba Laddé - remained silent.
Baba Laddé had returned to Chad a few days before the assassination of the former president. After years in prison, followed by several years in exile, the rebel was finally pardoned by Idriss Déby. Due to his influence over a large part of the armed groups, and his support, for more than 20 years, for the Chadian opposition, the most plausible hypothesis would have been to see him speak out against the seizure of power by Mahamat Déby. last April.
But in the end it did not. In May, a conflict erupted along the border between Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), involving the 3R militia - of which Baba Laddé is a historic leader - and Chadian soldiers on one side, and the Central African army and Wagner's paramilitaries on the other. There was no indication then that the Chadian army was protecting the 3Rs, which had, for years, committed numerous massacres in Chad.
The challenges of the alliance between Mahamat Déby and Baba Laddé
Naming a man accused of terrorist crimes, arms sales, massacres of civilians - He has been convicted of some of these charges - in four African countries including Chad, as head of intelligence is a risky gamble for Mahamat Déby. Yet an alliance between the Chadian junta and Baba Laddé could not have come at a better time.
Indeed, Mahamat Déby is trying somehow to rally the armed opposition groups to his national dialogue. A fiasco, so far, despite an alleged mediation led by the President of Togo Faure Gnassingbé and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey. The armed groups will undoubtedly be much more willing to speak with one of their own, or even one of their historical leaders.
Then, in the midst of a war against terrorist groups on the Nigerian, Nigerian and Cameroonian borders, Baba Laddé could be a major asset. Very connected to the Fulani of Nigeria and Cameroon, where he is accused of several crimesBaba Laddé will know how to deal with the strategies of terrorist groups or, at least, negotiate with them.
Finally, we must remember the recent murderous escalation between Chad and the CAR. And if the appointment of the rebel at the head of the Chadian intelligence services will undoubtedly cause some reluctance on the part of the Central African Republic, this should push Chad to obtain the support of the one who made the rain and the good weather in the northern CAR for over a decade.
Wagner's best enemy
On this last point, the appointment of Baba Laddé to such a sensitive post will have diplomatic and probably military consequences. As recently as September 24, Baba Laddé directly threatened Mali and called on the Malian Peuls to rise up against the state, which is finalizing an agreement with Wagner's Russian paramilitaries. Indeed, Baba Laddé has been Wagner's best enemy for a long time already. In CAR, he had, according to his movement, the Popular Front for the Recovery (FPR), led the charge of the Central African 3R rebels against the Central African army and Wagner's soldiers.
Thus, the president of the CAR, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, announced this Friday a ceasefire with the rebel groups. Bangui, however, refused for months to discuss with the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) of former President François Bozizé. The 3Rs are part of the CPC, and the access of Baba Laddé, a leader of the 3R, to a high position within the Chadian state, greatly complicates the situation in the north of the Central African Republic.
It remains to be seen what is the French position regarding the appointment of Baba Laddé. The latter could not have been appointed head of the intelligence services without the agreement of Paris, Chad's first military partner. Is France counting on Baba Laddé to put an end to Russian influence in the Central African neighbor?