Shooting near the headquarters of an opposition party in Chad after an attack on a security headquarters

Security unrest in Chad after the government announced the timetable for the presidential elections that will start next May 6 (Reuters - archive)

Intermittent machine gun fire was heard on Wednesday afternoon in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, near the headquarters of the opposition "Socialist Party Without Borders" led by Yaya Dillo.

An official in the opposition "Socialist Party Without Borders" spoke of shooting from Kalashnikov rifles and launching tear gas bombs.

The sound of intermittent gunfire caused panic among residents in the center of the city of N'Djamena.

Today's shooting comes in the wake of an attack that took place last night and targeted the offices of the National State Security Service in Chad, which is the influential internal intelligence service, resulting in "several deaths," as the Chadian government announced in a statement, in which it accused members of the "Socialist Party Without Borders." “By doing it.

According to the statement, the attack occurred after the arrest of a member of the Socialist Party Without Borders, whom the government accuses of “attempting to assassinate the President of the Supreme Court in mid-February.”

She confirmed that this was followed by "a deliberate attack by this person's partners, led by members of the opposition party, led by its leader, Yaya Dilo," on the intelligence headquarters.

The Chadian government stressed, in its statement issued earlier today, Wednesday, that "the situation is now under complete control" and that "some of the perpetrators of the attack have been arrested and the rest are being searched for and will be tried."

Yaya Dilo, a fierce opponent of the interim president, Mohamed Idriss Deby, and a relative of his, denounced a “theatrical” in relation to the allegations of an assassination attempt on the president of the Supreme Court.

Last night's attack came the day after the announcement of the timetable for the presidential elections in Chad, the first session of which will be held on May 6, ending the rule of the military junta that lasted 3 years when Mohamed Idriss Deby took power after the killing of his father.

Both President Déby and Yaya Dello confirm their intention to run in the elections.

In its statement on Wednesday, the government said, “Anyone who seeks to disrupt the ongoing democratic process in the country will be pursued and brought to justice.”

It is noteworthy that the Chadian army previously named Mohamed Idriss Déby Itno, 37 years old, on April 20, 2021, as president of the transitional period, heading a military council that includes 15 senior officers, after the killing of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, on the front lines with the rebels.

Déby Jr. pledged to return power to civilians by organizing elections after 18 months, a deadline that was postponed for two years.

Opposition forces fear that the "Deby dynasty" will continue to rule the Central African country, which is the second least developed country in the world according to the United Nations.

Idriss Déby Itno, who came to power through a coup, ruled the country with an iron fist from 1990 until his death in 2021.

Source: Agencies