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Chad say military foiled armed assault on presidential complex, 19 killed

At least 19 people have been killed in Chad where security forces said they had prevented an attempt by armed fighters to storm the presidential complex in the capital N’Djamena.

At least 18 of a force of 24 armed men were killed in the failed assault on the president’s office on Wednesday evening, the government said, and one member of the security forces also died in the gun battles.

“There were 18 dead and six injured” among the attackers “and we suffered one death and three injured, one of them seriously”, Chad’s foreign minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said.

Hours after the shooting, Koulamallah appeared in a video, surrounded by soldiers and with a gun on his belt, saying, “The situation is completely under control … the destabilisation attempt was put down.”

The attack coincided with an official visit by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Chad.

Hours before the shooting erupted, Wang Yi had met with Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby and other senior officials.

Deby was in the presidential complex at the time of the attack, according to Koulamallah

In a statement following the incident, China’s foreign ministry said it firmly supports Chad in its effort to keep the country safe and stable.

When asked at a regular news briefing about the deadly gunfire, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman noted that Wang had concluded his visit to the African country.

Deby seized power after rebels killed his father, longstanding President Idriss Deby, in 2021. The older Deby had ruled Chad since a coup in the early 1990s.

A security source told the French news agency AFP news agency that the attackers were members of the Boko Haram armed group, but Koulamallah later said they were “probably not” rebels, describing them instead as drunken “Pieds Nickeles” – a reference to a French comic featuring hapless crooks.

A security source also told the Reuters news agency that the incident was likely an “attempted terrorist attack”.

“Individuals in three vehicles attacked the military camps around the president’s office, but the army neutralised them,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Residents in the area described hearing loud volleys of gunfire.

The attack comes less than two weeks after Chad held a contested general election that the government hailed as a key step towards ending military rule, but that was marked by low turnout and opposition allegations of fraud.

A call by the opposition for voters to boycott the polls left the field open for candidates aligned with the president.

The former French colony, which is rich in oil resources but one of the poorest countries in Africa, hosted France’s last military bases in the region known as the Sahel, but at the end of November, ended defence and security agreements with Paris, calling them “obsolete”.

About 1,000 French military personnel were stationed in the country and are in the process of being withdrawn. Their departure follows after France was driven out of three Sahelian countries governed by military governments hostile to Paris: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Senegal and Ivory Coast have also asked France to vacate military bases on their territory.

 

Source: aljazeera.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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