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

The onslaught came conscionable hours aft China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with authorities officials successful the superior N’Djamena

At slightest 19 radical person been killed successful Chad wherever information forces said they had prevented an effort by equipped fighters to storm the statesmanlike complex successful the superior N’Djamena.

At slightest 18 of a unit of 24 equipped men were killed successful the failed battle connected the president’s bureau connected Wednesday evening, the authorities said, and 1 subordinate of the information forces besides died successful the weapon battles.

“There were 18 dormant and six injured” among the attackers “and we suffered 1 decease and 3 injured, 1 of them seriously”, Chad’s overseas curate and authorities spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said.

Hours aft the shooting, Koulamallah appeared successful a video, surrounded by soldiers and with a weapon connected his belt, saying, “The concern is wholly nether power … the destabilisation effort was enactment down.”

The onslaught coincided with an authoritative sojourn by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Chad.

Hours earlier the shooting erupted, Wang Yi had met with Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby and different elder officials. Deby was successful the statesmanlike analyzable astatine the clip of the attack, according to Koulamallah.

Chad’s Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah, right, meets with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, left, astatine the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successful N’Djamena connected January 8, 2025 [Joris Bolomey/AFP]

Deby seized powerfulness aft rebels killed his father, longstanding President Idriss Deby, successful 2021. The older Deby had ruled Chad since a coup successful the aboriginal 1990s.

A information root told the French quality bureau AFP that the attackers were members of the Boko Haram equipped group, but Koulamallah aboriginal said they were “probably not” rebels, describing them alternatively arsenic drunken “Pieds Nickeles” – a notation to a French comic featuring hapless crooks.

A information root besides told the Reuters quality bureau that the incidental was apt an “attempted violent attack”.

“Individuals successful 3 vehicles attacked the subject camps astir the president’s office, but the service neutralised them,” the root said, speaking connected information of anonymity.

Residents successful the country described proceeding large volleys of gunfire.

The onslaught comes little than 2 weeks aft Chad held a contested wide predetermination that the authorities hailed arsenic a cardinal measurement towards ending subject rule, but that was marked by debased turnout and absorption allegations of fraud.

A telephone by the absorption for voters to boycott the polls near the tract unfastened for candidates aligned with the president.

The erstwhile French colony, which is affluent successful lipid resources but 1 of the poorest countries successful Africa, hosted France’s past subject bases successful the portion known arsenic the Sahel, but astatine the extremity of November, ended defence and information agreements with Paris, calling them “obsolete”.

About 1,000 French subject unit were stationed successful the state and are successful the process of being withdrawn. Their departure follows aft France was driven retired of 3 Sahelian countries governed by subject governments hostile to Paris: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Senegal and Ivory Coast person besides asked France to vacate subject bases connected their territory.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies