Chad's former minister of foreign affairs, who became an opponent of President Idriss Déby's government, has returned to the nation after 25 years in exile.

Acheikh Ibn Oumar decided to come home after an announcement of a general amnesty in Chad. He had been living in Libya then France.

Mr Oumar is quoted by French-language broadcaster RFI as saying:

I do not have a particular role to play. Considering my age, maybe it will be conveying the experience I have acquired to the next generation who are the present and the future of the country."