Chad orders German ambassador to leave the country

Chad’s government has ordered the German ambassador Gordon Kricke to leave the country within 48 hours, it said in a statement, without giving a specific reason for the expulsion.

“This decision of the government is motivated by the discourteous attitude and the non-respect of diplomatic customs,” the country’s Communication Ministry said on Twitter on Friday.

“We have not been officially contacted,” a source at the German embassy told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, who said he had heard the news via social media.

Kricke has previously served as a diplomat in Niger, Angola and the Philippines.

He was also a special representative for Germany in the unstable Sahel.

A government source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that Kricke was seen as “interfering too much” in the governance of the country, and making divisive remarks.

He had been warned on several occasions, the source added.

Critical voice

According to Chad Information Agency, Kricke was reportedly one of the most critical voices of the October 2022 anti-government protests that saw dozens of people killed and hundreds injured after violent clashes with security forces.

In February, Chad’s National Commission for Human Rights said 128 people were killed in the protests, more than double the figure announced earlier by the government.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno took power after his father, president Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled the country for 30 years, died during an operation against rebels in April 2021.

Last month, he pardoned more than 200 people about four months after they were convicted on multiple counts in connection with deadly protests.

The military junta initially promised to hand power to civilians, however, in October, Deby’s rule was extended for two years.

The German embassy joined others, such as France, Spain and The Netherlands, in expressing its concern over the delayed return to democracy.