French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is continuing to lobby in favour of the regime of Idriss Deby, a faithful partner of France whose position has been rendered fragile by a changing regional environment. Agents of France's DGSE external intelligence service have even warned off his nephew in Qatar, rebel leader Timan Erdimi.
On August 27, the Chadian Ministry of Justice, which is headed by President Idriss Deby's former legal adviser and chief of staff, Djimet Arabi, announced that Union des Forces de la Resistance (UFR) leader Timam Erdimi had been condemned to life imprisonment in his absence for having tried to depose his uncle, Idriss Deby, seven months earlier. In early 2019, a column of UFR pick-ups descended from southern Libya, which has served as the rebellion's refuge zone since 2012, and travelled hundred