Fighting between Chadian security forces and gunmen who attacked the presidential palace in the capital N’Djamena on Wednesday left 19 dead on lives, the local government said. TASR reports according to the AFP agency.
According to her, among the victims are 18 out of 24 attackers and one member of the security forces, while six other people were injured and the condition of one of them is serious. The Chadian confirmed it Minister of Foreign Affairs Abderaman Koulamallahwhich a few hours after the armed attack he declared that “the situation is fully under control” and “the destabilization attempt has been thwarted.”
According to an unnamed source in the case of the attackers, they were members of the jihadist group Boko Haram, but the head of diplomacy said that they were “probably not” terrorists. Koulamallah further added that the gunmen attacked four members of the security forces and then entered the presidential complex, where they were “easily overpowered”. According to him, the surviving attackers were “completely drugged”. cites AFP.
The shooting erupted less than two weeks after general elections in the largely desert central African country, which is a former French colony. But the vote was marred by low turnout, as well as boycotts and claims of fraud by the opposition. The results of the elections have not yet been published, but according to analysts, it is expected that President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno will consolidate power.
The election was held against the backdrop of repeated attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group in the area of Lake Chad, as well as the termination of the military agreement with France. There were also accusations that Chad was interfering in the conflict ravaging neighboring Sudan.
Just hours before the shooting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Chad’s president and other high-ranking officials from the African country on Wednesday. Déby Itno came to power in 2021 after the death of his father, who ruled Chad with an iron hand for three decades. The opposition accuses his government of autocracy and persecution of opponents.
