At least 19 people were killed in Chad on Wednesday evening after armed fighters launched a brazen assault on the presidential complex in the capital, N’Djamena, Al Jazeera reports.
Security forces successfully repelled the attack, but the incident has raised concerns about stability in the country, just weeks after a controversial general election.
The Chadian government reported that 18 of the 24 attackers were killed in the gun battle, along with one member of the security forces. There were 18 dead and six injured among the attackers, according to Foreign Minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah. Casualties on the other side included one death and three injured, Koulamallah added.
In a video released hours after the shooting, Koulamallah, flanked by soldiers, declared that the “situation is completely under control” and that the “destabilisation attempt was put down.” Residents in the area reported hearing intense gunfire during the attack.
The attack took place during an official visit by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had met with President Mahamat Idriss Deby and other officials just hours before the assault. President Deby was reportedly inside the presidential complex when the attack occurred. Deby assumed power in 2021 after his father, longtime President Idriss Deby, was killed by rebels.
Initial reports from a security source suggested the attackers were members of the Boko Haram armed group. However, Koulamallah later downplayed this, saying they were “probably not” rebels and instead referring to them as drunken “Pieds Nickeles,” a term referencing a French comic about inept crooks. Another security source told Reuters the incident was likely an “attempted terrorist attack.”
The attack occurred less than two weeks after Chad held a contested general election, seen by the government as a key step towards ending military rule. The election, however, was marked by low turnout and allegations of fraud from the opposition, who boycotted the polls, effectively clearing the path for candidates allied with President Deby.
The incident comes amidst growing instability in the Sahel region and increasing tensions between former colonial powers and countries in the area. Chad, a former French colony with significant oil resources, recently ended its defense and security agreements with France, calling them “obsolete.” Around 1,000 French military personnel stationed in Chad are currently in the process of being withdrawn, following similar departures from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Senegal and Ivory Coast have also recently requested France to remove its military bases from their territory.
