In a tragic incident overnight, an assault on the headquarters of Chad’s internal security agency in the capital, N’Djamena, resulted in the loss of several lives, according to the government’s announcement on Wednesday.
The authorities have implicated “elements” associated with an opposition party in the attack.
Reports indicate that the military has surrounded the main office of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), as observed by media.
The routes leading to the national security agency are currently blocked.
The assault follows the arrest of a PSF member accused of attempting to assassinate the president of the supreme court, as detailed in the government’s statement.
The situation took a serious turn, characterized by a deliberate attack by accomplices of this individual led by elements of the PSF against state security offices.
The government reassured the public that the situation is now “completely under control,” adding that those responsible for the act have either been apprehended or are being actively pursued for prosecution.
Yaya Dillo, the leader of the PSF party and a vocal critic of Chad’s transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, dismissed the allegations of an attempted attack as a staged event.
-‘Brought to justice’ –
The attack on the security offices coincides with Chad’s announcement of a presidential election scheduled for May 6, with both Deby Itno and Dillo intending to participate.
The government emphasized in its statement on Wednesday that anyone attempting to disrupt the ongoing democratic process would face prosecution and be brought to justice.
Mahamat Deby Itno assumed power in Chad following the death of his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled the nation for three decades. The elder Deby Itno had taken power through a coup.
Although Mahamat Deby Itno initially pledged to return power to civilians and organize elections within 18 months, an additional two years of transition was later added, extending the transition period to October 10 of the current year.
Chad’s opposition has urged the president not to seek reelection in this Central African country, ranked as the second least developed globally by the United Nations.
The leading opposition and civil society alliance, Wakit Tamma, has accused the international community, particularly former colonial ruler France, of endorsing “dynastic succession.”
Yaya Dillo, who contested the presidency in 2021 against his uncle, Idriss Deby Itno, is now confronted with the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party designating Mahamat Deby Itno as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election, despite earlier assurances to the African Union that he would not run. The new constitution, adopted in a December referendum, now allows him to do so.
