Monday, July 2, 2007

Chad leader's son killed in Paris

The son of Chad's President Idriss Deby has been found dead in Paris after apparently being forced to inhale the chemicals from a fire extinguisher. The body of Brahim Deby, 27, was found in the car park of his block of flats. An extinguisher was found by his body. An autopsy report said he had likely been asphyxiated by "white powder". Police have launched a murder inquiry.

Brahim Deby was last year sacked as a presidential advisor after a conviction for drugs and weapons possession. His body was found in a corridor between the parking lot and the stairs leading to the flats in Courbevoie, west of Paris. An initial autopsy report concluded he had been "asphyxiated, probably by the white powder he was sprayed with", a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office in the western suburb of Nanterre said. The source of the powder is believed to have been the fire extinguisher found near the body. A head wound found on Deby's body had not caused his death, the prosecutor's office said. "He clearly died a violent death," the spokeswoman said. "We are going on the hypothesis of murder."

President Idriss Deby came to power in a coup in 1991. Rebels trying to oust him last year attacked the capital, N'Djamena, before being repulsed with French military aid. A few months later, Mr Deby won elections boycotted by the opposition, who complained of fraud.

A spokesman for the rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) spokesman Makaila Nguebla told Reuters news agency that Brahim Deby's conduct had prompted many top Chadian officials to join the rebellion. "He is at the root of all the frustration. He used to slap government ministers, senior Chadian officials were humiliated by Deby's son."

Source: BBC

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