Abbas Koty Yacoub (1952 , cnrdutchad.com .–October 22, 1993 , U.S. Department of State.) was a
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
ian political figure and rebel leader.
Koty, a
Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to:
* Zaghawa people
* Zaghawa language
Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''Be ...
, was Director of the Military Cabinet under Head of State
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei ( ar, كوكوني عويدي '; born 1944 in Zouar) is a Chadian politician who served as President of Chad from 1979 to 1982.
A northerner, Goukouni commanded FROLINAT rebels with Libyan support during the first Chadian Civi ...
from 1979 to June 1982, when Oueddei was ousted by
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 unt ...
. He then went into exile in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. 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
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
'' to
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, serving there until 1988.
Koty then joined the rebel
Patriotic Salvation Movement
The Patriotic Salvation Movement ( ar, الحركة الوطنية للإنقاذ, french: Mouvement patriotique du salut, MPS) is the ruling political party in Chad.
History
After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsu ...
(MPS) and became a member of its Political Bureau. After it seized power in Chad in December 1990, he was promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
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
Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021.
Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...
; in December 1991 he was moved to the position of Minister of Public Works and Transport. 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
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, 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,"Chronology for Southerners in Chad" , cidcm.umd.edu. he signed a peace agreement with the government in
Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...
,"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
N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''.
The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the ...
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".