At least 18 attackers and one soldier were killed in an attack on the Chadian presidential headquarters in the capital N'Djamena, where gunfire was heard, the government said today.
In statements broadcast on public television, government spokesman and foreign minister Abderaman Koulamallah said the attack, which took place on Wednesday night, left 18 dead and six injured among the attackers.
"For our part, we regret one death and three injuries, one of them seriously," Koulamallah added.
According to the spokesman, the attackers were "people on drugs, without weapons of war (firearms), from a district of N'Djamena" who "were armed with knives and had several amulets".
According to the official, the attackers arrived at the presidential palace in a bus that apparently broke down right in front of the building, got out and stabbed four security guards, one of whom died.
"They managed to enter the Presidency. One of the guards started shooting. This alerted the other guards stationed in the surrounding area," he said.
After the shooting raised the alarm in N'Djamena, the spokesman assured on Wednesday night, in a video posted on his Facebook page, that the situation was under control.
"I am currently in the Presidency of the Republic, where the situation has been completely neutralized. There is no fear, nothing serious. The situation is under control," he said, flanked by armed soldiers.
Koulamallah thus denied information published by the news portal Tchad 24, which, citing the National Security Agency (ANSE, intelligence service) as its source, claimed that the attackers were members of the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram, which sometimes carries out attacks in Chad.
Videos shared by soldiers from the presidential guard and posted on social media shortly after the clashes show the bodies of the attackers on the grounds of the presidential palace.
The government spokesman did not clarify whether the President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, was in the palace during the incident, which occurred hours after the head of state received the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who arrived in Chad from the Republic of Congo as part of his trip to Africa.
On December 29, the country held peaceful legislative, provincial and local elections, without major incidents, the first since 2011.
However, the opposition boycotted the elections, considering them illegitimate and not free and fair.
Déby Itno, 40, took power on April 20, 2021 after the death of his father, also Marshal Idriss Déby Itno, who was killed in fighting with rebel groups, according to the official version. His son was immediately appointed transitional president and led the country during this three-year period, during which he repressed, sometimes violently, the opposition before being elected.
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