Government Attack on presidential palace in Chad claims 19 lives
Heavily armed assailants attacked the presidential palace in Chad on Wednesday. The group was quickly overpowered by the presidential guard, according to security sources.
09.01.2025, 00:07
SDA
"The situation is completely under control," said Chadian Foreign Minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah in a video published on Facebook. The "destabilization attempt" had been repelled. According to government figures, 19 people were killed, including 18 attackers.
Koulamallah explained that there had been a total of 24 attackers. 18 of them were killed and the remaining six were injured. On the government side, there was one dead and three injured.
Journalists from the AFP news agency had previously heard shots fired near the presidential palace. All access roads to the president's official residence were blocked and tanks could be seen on the streets of the capital N'Djamena.
Attack allegedly carried out by Boko Haram
According to security sources, the attackers were fighters from the jihadist militia Boko Haram, which is being fought by the army in the region around Lake Chad.
The attack occurred a few hours after the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to N'Djamena. He had been received by the head of state Mahamad Idriss Déby Itno, among others.
A new parliament was elected in Chad at the end of December. The opposition had raised accusations of manipulation beforehand and called for a boycott of the election. The government of the central African state in the Sahel region, on the other hand, had presented the election as an important step towards ending the three years of military rule. However, voter turnout was low
Rebels killed presidential father
Déby was confirmed as president in May in an election that was criticized by the opposition. In April 2021, he was appointed interim president by the army at the head of a military government after his father Idriss Déby Itno was killed by rebels. He had ruled Chad, which had been independent since 1960, with a heavy hand for 30 years.
At the end of November, Chad terminated the security and defense agreements with the former colonial power France. Three weeks later, the first French soldiers left the country.
France had already withdrawn its soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following tensions with the respective rulers. The military juntas ruling the countries drew closer to Russia. Senegal and the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) are also calling for the withdrawal of French troops stationed there.
