After President Idriss Déby, who seized control in his own 1990 coup, was killed in a military operation against rebels on Chad’s northern border in April 2021, the speaker of parliament should have ascended to the presidency. Instead, a military council took control and installed Déby’s son, Gen. Mahamat Idriss Déby, as the president, leading to deadly protests in the capital.

The late Déby was a Western ally against Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, and the United States did not formally impose sanctions on the country after the unconstitutional transition of power.