Chad President Idriss Deby dies on front lines, says army spokesman

Chad’s President Idriss Deby has died while visiting troops on the front line of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of a sixth term in office.

Deby's campaign said on Monday that he was headed to the front lines to join troops battling "terrorists".

Read more: Boko Haram kills almost 100 soldiers in seven-hour attack in Chad

Rebels based across the northern frontier in Libya attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres south across the desert.

Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders.