Chad Opposition Leader, Several Others Killed in Foiled Security Office Attack
On Wednesday, several individuals, including a prominent opposition figure, lost their lives in an attack on Chad’s internal security agency in the capital city of N’Djamena. The assault occurred overnight.
The opposition was accused by the government of carrying out the attack.
The assault on the National Agency for State Security (ANSE) was executed by individuals affiliated with the Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), as reported by Abderaman Koulamalla, the Minister for Communication in Chad. Yaya Dillo, the leader of the opposition party, is associated with this group.
Subsequent reports from regional media suggested that Dillo had been eliminated by the forces, although the government did not promptly verify this information.
Tchad One, a local independent news outlet, reported the “assassination” of Dillo and later high “palpable tensions” in the capital N’Djamena as forces hunted for more opposition figures.
The news outlet also reported that Gen Saley Deby, a close relative of the Chadian junta leader Mahamat Deby, was being hunted down to “surrender”.
Later, Saley was arrested and “taken to the presidency”, it reported. Saley had joined the PSF earlier in February, having left the junta.
The attack by the opposition earlier had led to “several deaths”, the government statement said adding that “further details would be communicated later”.
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The government additionally stated that the assault on the intelligence agency occurred after the arrest of an opposition party member who was charged with plotting to assassinate the president of the nation’s Supreme Court.
According to reports, family members of the detained opposition figure identified as Abakar Trabi, along with other party members, crowded the ANSE headquarters upon discovering that Trabi had been fatally shot. On Wednesday morning, security forces reportedly fired upon the gathering.
The government said the “situation is now totally under control” after defense and security forces intervened.
It further said that “the perpetrators of this act have been arrested or are being sought and will be prosecuted”.
The assault occurred one day after the nation declared its plan to conduct a two-phase presidential election in May and June, with tentative results anticipated by July 7. Both the junta leader, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, and Dillo were slated to participate in the electoral competition.
Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno assumed control in Chad following the military involvement of his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who commanded his nation’s forces in a conflict against rebels in 2021. This occurred just days after the elder Deby secured a sixth term in an election that the opposition had boycotted, thereby prolonging his three-decade-long
His military regime is among several juntas presently governing in West and Central Africa.
Chad Opposition Leader, Several Others Killed in Foiled Security Office Attack
