In retaliation for the West African nation’s equivalent action last week, Berlin has asked Chad’s ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours, according to the foreign ministry.
Read also: German ambassador to be expelled from Chad for “discourteous conduct”
“In response to the unfounded expulsion of our Ambassador to Chad, we today summoned the Chadian Ambassador in Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, and called on her to leave Germany within 48 hours. We regret that it had to come to this,” the ministry said in a tweet.
Gordon Kricke, the German ambassador to Chad, was ejected from the nation last week. According to the Chadian communications minister, the decision was made in violation of diplomatic protocol.
According to two government officials in Chad, Kricke’s criticism of postponed elections and a court ruling permitting temporary military ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby to run for office were the reasons for his departure.
“Ambassador Kricke exercised his office in N’Djamena in an exemplary manner & has worked for human rights & the rapid transition to a civilian government in Chad,” the German ministry said.
When Deby took control of the nation after his father, President Idriss Deby, was slain on the battlefield during a struggle with rebels, ending decades of autocratic rule, military authorities in the nation first pledged an 18-month transition to elections.
However, the military government this year extended the deadline by two years, delaying elections until October 2024. This sparked protests that resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, alarmed regional countries, and alarmed the US, which had previously cautioned against the extension of military rule.
