Chad’s military government and opposition groups have signed a peace deal.
Government leader Mahamat Idriss Deby agreed to the peace deal that will lead to the launch national peace talks later this month
The signing ceremony took place in Doha after five months of mediation by Qatar.
The peace talks are due to start in Chad’s capital N’Djamena on August 20.
However, the main rebel group, The Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT),refused to sign the peace accord.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the signing “a key moment for the Chadian people”
Guterres however said the national dialogue had to be “inclusive” to be successful.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the accord aimed to establish “a peace to replace the trouble and strife that the country has known for many long years”.
Deby took power after the death of his father, long-time president Idriss Deby Itno, in a battle with rebels in April last year.
He promised a national dialogue and elections within 18 months, but the mediation has been fraught with discord.
Diplomats monitoring the negotiations said there would be a “race against time” to hold the election before October.
Deby has said his transitional rule could be extended but faces pressure from the international community to keep to the deadline.
