Doha News was able to access a document containing the names of the Chadian members attending the talks.
A preparatory meeting over Qatar-facilitated political dialogue between all Chadian sides took place in Doha on Wednesday, marking a major step towards the talks following a delay.
The talks are scheduled to take place on 13 March in the Gulf state after Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani extended his country’s support to all Chadian sides in reaching a political resolution following years of tensions.
The preparatory meeting was led by Qatar’s Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Dr Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani.
Qatar’s foreign ministry (MOFA) said that Various ambassadors in Doha were also in attendance, without specifying the countries that they were representing.
“Al Qahtani affirmed the State of Qatar’s keenness to achieve peace and stability in Chad and to exert its good offices in this regard. His Excellency expressed the State of Qatar’s aspiration to host negotiations between the Chadian parties next week,” said MOFA.
A document seen by Doha News confirmed that the Chadian Transitional Military Council has established a committee dedicated for the Qatar-facilitated negotiations. The delegations comprises 24 officials from political and military groups.
The delegation is going to be led by Mahamat Zene Cherif, Chad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Chadians Abroad.
The inclusive talks seek to break what appears to be a stalemate in N’Djamena between conflicting parties, paving the way for elections. Deby had also hoped that the dialogue would result in the disarmament and return of Chadian militants from Libya to their country.
The talks were initially scheduled to take place last month, but were postponed due to Qatar’s decision to limit the number of groups attending the talks. The Head of Chad’s Transitional Military Council, Mohamed Idriss Deby, had insisted on committing to his promise to have all 59 members at the table of negotiations.
Whilst the matter was settled, other logistical issues related to the travel of participants, including those in Libya and Sudan, have contributed to the delay.
A Chad-based source had revealed to Doha News earlier this month that Cherif and Deby had also met with Dr Al Qahtani in Paris on 17 February.
The dialogue in Doha would complement Chad’s national reconciliation talks, which were initially set to take place on 15 February, but were postponed until May amidst tensions between government and opposition parties.
The national reconciliation dialogue is backed by the African Union, European Union, and France.
Tensions between government and armed groups have increased in the country since the killing of former President Idriss Deby, on 20 April 2021.
