Tibesti Landmines: Even the experts get nailed....

[Richard Washington]

From BBC Africa News....
Chadian rebel leader Youssouf Togoimi has been seriously wounded in a landmine explosion.
Mr Togoimi is the founder of the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT). which, in 1998, launched a violent campaign against the government of President Idriss Deby.

Chadian Communications Minister Moctar Wawa Dahab said that he was a casualty of one of his own mines on a road in his northern stronghold, bordering Niger and Libya, but did not say whether he might survive.

"The MDJT rebel chief was injured by a mine in the Tibesti region and had both legs maimed," he said.

It is unclear where he is receiving treatment.

Division

The communications minister told the BBC that the accident could have a positive impact as Mr Togoimi was considered the main obstacle to peace in Chad.

Last year the Chadian Government and rebels signed a Libyan-brokered peace deal, ending three years of civil war.

But the MDJT leadership remained divided with hardliners, including Mr Togoimi, rejecting the accord.

Togoimi, who was a former defence minister under Deby, was reported to have returned to the mountainous and desert-like Tibesti region from Libya in June.

Libya

Libya was responsible for ensuring that the peace deal was respected.

In the mid 1980s, Libya and Chad fought a war when Libya tried to annexe the Aouzou strip in northern Chad.

But correspondents say that President Muammar Gaddafi has been close to President Deby since helping him seize power in 1990.

Libya is one of the main sources of aid to Chad.