Idriss Déby’s 37-year-old son Mahamat, Chad’s new strongman, has named a government comprising of 40 ministers and deputy ministers, Junta spokesperson Azem Bermandoa Agouna announced in a televised statement.

The Transitional Military Council (CMT) pledged to restore democracy to Chad within 18 months, after what the opposition condemned as an “institutional coup”.

The junta took power in April 2021, after the shock death of veteran president Idriss Déby who died in mid-April after more than three decades in power.

The army announced that the 68-year-old leader died from injuries inflicted on the battlefield during clashes with militants in the north of the country.