Chad's President Idriss Deby killed in clashes with northern rebels shortly after winning re-election

Chad's President Idriss Deby has died while visiting troops on the frontline of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of a presidential election.

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

His campaign said on Monday he was joining troops battling what he called terrorists after rebels based across the northern frontier in Libya advanced hundreds of km (miles) south toward the capital N'Djamena. 

The cause of death was not yet clear. 

Army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna announced his death in a broadcast on state television, surrounded by a group of military officers he referred to as the National Council of Transition. "A call to dialogue and peace is launched to all Chadians in the country and abroad in order to continue to build Chad together," he said. 

"The National Council of Transition reassures the Chadian people that all measures have been taken to guarantee peace, security and the republican order."