A post on the United States embassy’s Facebook page has urged its nationals in Chad to exercise caution on Friday – the day of late Chadian President Idriss Déby funereal. The BBC reports that the post asks US nationals to keep a low profile and to “avoid areas where there are large gatherings of people”.

Friday was declared a national holiday by Chadian authorities for the state funereal of Deby. The ceremony was to be held in N’Djamena’s main square, La Place de la Nation, to be followed by prayers at the capital’s main mosque, the Grande Mosquée de N’Djamena. On Thursday, a car with mounted speakers drove around N’Djamena telling residents not to panic if they heard cannon fire as Deby would receive a 21-gun salute.

French President Emmanuel Macron and several African leaders attended Deby’s funereal ceremony amid a heavy military presence.

According to the BBC Déby is to be buried in the village of Amdjarass in the far east of the country. He had ruled Chad for more than 30 years and was one of Africa’s shrewdest politicians, managing not to relinquish his grip on power despite rebellions having reached as far as his palace gates.

Umm Muhammed Umar