Chad's former prime minister 'abducted' from home: party

Chad's former Prime Minister Succes Masra, addresses media at his residence in N'Djamena on May 8, 2024. [AFP]

Chad's former prime minister, Succes Masra, a critic of the ruling authorities of the central African nation, was taken by force from his home early Friday, his party said.

"Succes Masra was just abducted by military force today, May 16 at 5:56 am" from his home, which also serves as headquarters for his party, Les Transformateurs (The Transformers), said a post on his official Facebook page.

The post also featured an unverified video that showed him leaving his residence surrounded by around a dozen armed men in military uniform.

Masra, who served as prime minister of Chad from January to May 2024, faced off against President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in presidential elections last May.

He took 18.5 per cent of the vote against Deby's 61.3 per cent, but claimed victory.

He has been one of Deby's fiercest opponents.

Deby had been proclaimed transitional president by fellow army generals in 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled Chad for 30 years, was killed in a gun battle with rebels.

Deby promised an 18-month transition to democracy but extended it by two years. Opposition figures have since fled, been silenced, or joined with Deby.

After a new constitution was approved in a referendum in December 2023, Deby, 40, was elected president in May 2024 in voting that international observers said was not credible.