Abbas Koty

Abbas Koty Yacoub (1952 [http://www.cnrdutchad.com/martyrs.html "Les martyrs du CNR"] , cnrdutchad.com fr.] –October 22 1993 [http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1993_hrp_report/93hrp_report_africa/Chad.html Chad Human Rights Practices, 1993] , U.S. Department of State.] ) was a Chadian political figure and rebel leader.

Koty, a Zaghawa, [Bernard Lanne, "Chad: Regime Change, Increased Insecurity, and Blockage of Further Reforms", "Political Reform in Francophone Africa" (1997), ed. Clark and Gardinier, page 277.] was Director of the Military Cabinet under Head of State Goukouni Oueddei from 1979 to June 1982, when Oueddei was ousted by Hissène Habré. He then went into exile in Nigeria. Although opposed to Habré, he returned to Chad in 1985 as part of a policy of national reconciliation, and in 1986 he was named "chargé d'affaires" to Sudan, serving there until 1988.

Koty then joined the rebel Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) and became a member of its Political Bureau. After it seized power in Chad in December 1990, he was promoted to colonel and became army chief of staff. In May 1991 he was appointed to the government as Minister of Defense, Veterans, and War Victims under President Idriss Déby; in December 1991 he was moved to the position of Minister of Public Works and Transport. ["Dec 1991 - Cabinet reshuffle-Creation of national commission", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 37, December, 1991 Chad, Page 38665.] At an MPS party congress, Koty was elected to the party's Executive Committee and was placed in charge of defense and security.

On June 18 1992, it was announced that a coup plot being organized by Koty had been thwarted. ["Jun 1992 - Coup attempt", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 38, June, 1992 Chad, Page 38952.] Koty fled into exile in Cameroon, where he was one of the founders of the National Committee for Recovery (CNR) on June 21. In November 1992, he was elected as the group's president. On August 15 1993, [http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=48302 "Chronology for Southerners in Chad"] , cidcm.umd.edu.] he signed a peace agreement with the government in Tripoli, Libya, [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3ae6abad44.html "Chad: Information on the circumstances surrounding the death of Abbas Kotti (Koty) and whether there were other deaths or arrests"] , Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada (UNHCR.org).] and subsequently returned to Chad. On October 16 he signed a further agreement with the government, providing for the transformation of the CNR into a political party, as well as the integration of group's fighters into the army."Oct 1993 - Killing of CNRT leader", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 39, October, 1993 Chad, Page 39674.] On October 22, however, Koty was shot and killed in N'Djamena by security forces. According to the government, he had been plotting a coup and had resisted arrest, but the CNR denied this and said that he was killed because Déby perceived him as a threat due to his popularity. A U.S. State Department human rights report also cast doubt on the official account, alleging that there was "strong evidence that this was a political killing".

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