Togo has multiplied consultations with Chadian rebels since April. Initially limited to the four main politico-military groups in Chad: the UFR, the CCMSR, the FNDJT and the FACT, they were subsequently expanded to five additional armed groups, before narrowing again to the original four groups.

According to a reliable source, the purpose of the Togolese initiative is to gather the demands of the rebels with a view to their contribution to the Chadian national dialogue which the new authorities in N'Djamena seem willing to undertake. For now, the position of these rebel groups appears irreconcilable with that of the Chadian authorities: not only do they demand a general amnesty, the release of prisoners of war and political prisoners, but they flatly refuse to recognize Mahamat Idriss Déby's military transition committee. As for the latter, he refuses to consider the FACT rebels, at the origin of Idriss Déby's death, as a party to the national dialogue.

The road promises to be long and difficult. But if it were to succeed, it would be a major success for the authorities in Lomé, who have already helped bring about the return to Chad of opposition figure Hassan Fadoul Tikri, after 21 years of exile in Togo. This Chad-Togo link goes back a long way. As far back as 1979, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma crossed the Chari River in a canoe to mediate between two Chadian warlords, Hissène Habré and Goukouni Oueddei.