Turkish foreign minister congratulates Chadian counterpart

ANKARA

Turkey's foreign minister on Saturday congratulated the Chadian foreign minister over his recent appointment to a transitional government.

Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in a phone call, hailed his Chadian counterpart Mahamat Zene's appointment and expressed Turkey's solidarity with Chad and the transitional period to proceed peacefully, according to diplomatic sources.

Zene was appointed as the foreign minister, a post he held from 2018 to 2020. He had also served as the permanent representative of Chad to the UN.

The military council in Chad is in charge of the 18-month transitional government, after which it will hold democratic elections.

It is chaired by Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby, the son of the late president who died from wounds sustained in fighting with rebel forces, a day after he was proclaimed the winner of a presidential election, handing him a sixth term in office.

On Sunday, the military council lifted a curfew imposed on April 20 following the death of President Deby.