Deaths recorded as gunshots rock Chad capital after bloody attack

Sustained gunfire was heard Wednesday evening near the presidency in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, according to AFP. A security source said armed men had attacked the interior of the presidential compound but authorities made no immediate comment. All roads leading to the presidency have been blocked and tanks could be seen on the streets of the […]

Sustained gunfire was heard Wednesday evening near the presidency in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, according to AFP.

A security source said armed men had attacked the interior of the presidential compound but authorities made no immediate comment.

All roads leading to the presidency have been blocked and tanks could be seen on the streets of the capital, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

The gunfire erupted less than two weeks after the landlocked country in Africa’s northern half held a contested general election.

The government hailed it as a key step towards ending military rule, but it was marked by low turnout and opposition allegations of fraud.

The election had taken place against a backdrop of recurring attacks by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, the ending of a military accord with former colonial master France, and accusations that Chad was interfering in the conflict ravaging neighbouring Sudan.

Several hours earlier on Tuesday, China’s foreign minister Wang Li met with President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, and other senior officials.

The former French colony hosted France’s last military bases in the region known as the Sahel, but at the end of November it ended the defence and security agreements with Paris.

Around a thousand French military personnel were stationed there, and are in the process of being withdrawn.

France is now reconfiguring its military presence in Africa after being driven out of three Sahelian countries governed by juntas hostile to Paris — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Senegal and the Ivory Coast have also asked France to leave military bases on their territory.

Before the shots, there was a deadly attack on the headquarters of the National Security Agency (ANSE).

Several people were killed in Wednesday’s attack, the government said – blaming the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF).

Its leader, Yaya Dillo, told the AFP news agency the allegation was a “lie”.

The unrest comes a day after the announcement that Chad will hold presidential elections on 6 May.

N’Djamena residents reported hearing intense gunfire near the PSF’s main office on Wednesday and said they had seen several military vehicles heading there.

One witness told Reuters that the PSF buildings had been cordoned off.

Communication Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said the earlier attack on the ANSE buildings was led by Mr Dillo, who denied he was there – telling AFP the accusation was intended “to make me afraid so that I don’t go to the election”.

One of Mr Dillo’s colleagues, the PSF’s general secretary, told Reuters that contrary to the government’s claim that its members had attacked the ANSE building, they had been the ones to come under attack from soldiers while trying to retrieve the body of their colleague, Ahmed Torabi.

The PSF official said Mr Torabi was arrested and shot dead on Tuesday, before his body was dumped outside the ANSE buildings.

According to the government, Mr Torabi had attempted to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court.

Relatives and party members who tried to get to his body were shot at on Wednesday morning, resulting in multiple fatalities, the general secretary said.

Mr Dillo also denied any links to the assassination attempt, which he described as “staged”, according to AFP.

Mr Dillo is a vocal opponent of his cousin, President Mahamat Déby, who came into power in 2021 after the latter’s father was killed by rebels after three decades in power.

Mr Déby promised to return the country to civilian rule – but delayed it for more than two years.

The May election is supposed to mark the end of the political transition.

The Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) designated President Déby as its candidate for the upcoming elections, but he is yet to openly comment on whether he will run.

Former colonial power France has been backing Mr Déby since the start of the transition, raising eyebrows both in and out of the country.