Brain haemorrhage kills Chad PM

Chadian prime minister Pascal Yoadimnadji died today at a Paris hospital following a brain haemorrhage, the African nation’s ambassador to France said. He was 56.

Mr Yoadimnadji died shortly after midnight at Val de Grace military hospital in Paris.

He had been sent to France on Wednesday after falling ill and slipping into a coma in Chad, ambassador Moukhtar Wawa Dahab told The Associated Press.

His wife, who accompanied Mr Yoadimnadji to Paris, will repatriate his body to Chad, the ambassador said. They had no children.

“On Wednesday, he felt ill. He fell into a coma,” he said. He added that Mr Yoadimnadji received medical attention in Chad before being evacuated on an ambulance plane.

Chadian president Idriss Deby appointed Yoadimnadji, a lawyer, as head of government in 2005. He replaced Moussa Faki Mahamat, who had resigned. “Pascal was a statesman, a nationalist able to overcome all obstacles,” said Mr Deby in a statement.

“With his departure, the entire country has lost one of its worthy and grand sons.”

Mr Deby has appointed infrastructure minister Adoum Younousmi as acting prime minister.