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Chad's New Leader Visits Niger in 1st International Trip

Associated Press

   NIAMEY, NIGER - Chad's new leader Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby traveled to
   Niger on Monday, making his first international trip since the military
   put him in charge last month following the death of his father.

   Deby arrived in Niger's capital, Niamey, where he was greeted by
   Niger's Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou and other dignitaries. The
   37-year-old Chadian head of state is expected to meet with Niger's new
   President Mohamed Bazoum.

   Some 1,200 Chadian soldiers are deployed in western Niger near the
   border with Burkina Faso, where extremist attacks have been increasing
   over the past few years.

   Chad and Niger are both members of the G5 Sahel, a regional security
   force battling extremism, alongside Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania.

   Chad's military government now in charge has blamed the death of
   longtime President Idriss Deby Itno on a rebel group, and said some of
   the militants had then retreated across the border into Niger.

   The younger Deby has sought to move forward despite lingering concerns
   by opposition groups that he should not have been handed control of the
   country. Under the country's constitution, power should have been given
   to the president of the National Assembly.

   However, a number of opposition politicians have since been named to
   prominent positions within the military-led transitional government,
   including the posts of prime minister and justice minister.