NEWS- Heavy gunfire has rocked Chad’s capital N’Djamena following a deadly attack on the headquarters of the National Security Agency, and it is reported that several people were killed in the attack which the government blamed on the opposition party, Socialist Party Without Borders.
However, the Socialist Party without Borders (PSF) leader Yaya Dillo told journalists that this was a “lie” as the unrest comes a day after the announcement that Chad will hold presidential elections on 6th May 2024.
The Communication Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said the attack was led by Mr Dillo who contextually denied the allegations and said he wasn’t even present in the country.
The opposition leader Dillo told reporters the accusations were intended to prevent him from participating in the forthcoming elections or to physically eliminate him or make him afraid so that he does not go to the election.
The Socialist Party Without Borders General Secretary said soldiers near the National Security Agency (ANSE) had opened fire at party members as they were trying to retrieve the body of their colleague, Ahmed Torabi, whom the government said was shot dead as he attempted to assassinate the President of the Supreme Court.
Torabi was arrested, then shot dead on Tuesday and his body dumped outside the National Security Agency Headquarters and the relatives and party members who tried to retrieve the body were shot at, resulting in multiple fatalities.
Mr Dillo has also denied any links to the assassination attempt, which he described as “stage managed” by the government, but the government said Socialist Party Without Borders members had been arrested over the attack on the National Security Agency Headquarters and will be prosecuted.
“Anyone looking to disturb the democratic process under way in the country will be prosecuted and brought to justice,” the government said.
It is not clear if Mr Dillo was among those arrested, but in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, he said the military had come for him at his party headquarters and N’Djamena residents reported hearing intense gunfire near the
Socialist Party Without Borders headquarters late Wednesday evening and also reported seeing several military vehicles heading there and internet connectivity has been disrupted in the country.
Mr Dillo is a vocal opponent of President Mahamat Déby and is also his cousin, came into power in 2021 after his father was killed by rebels after three decades in power and promised to return the country to civilian rule but has delayed it for more than two years, but the election is supposed to mark the end of the political transition.
The Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) designated President Déby as its candidate for the upcoming elections, but he is yet to openly comment whether he will run or not, but the opposition says the electoral commission is far from neutral and it fears an extension of the Mr Déby dynasty.
Former colonial France has been backing Mr Déby since the start of the transition, raising eyebrows both in and out of the country and France currently has about 1,000 troops in Chad to fight jihadist groups across West Africa.
Additional Reporting from BBC Africa
