Yahya Dilou was the main rival of his cousin, interim president Mohamed Idriss Déby Itno (French)
Yahya Dillo Djiro, a prominent opponent of the head of the ruling military junta in Chad, was killed yesterday, Wednesday, in an army attack on his party headquarters, before the elections scheduled for May, where he was the main competitor to his cousin and interim president, Mohamed Idriss Déby Itno.
Government spokesman, Minister of Communications, Abdul Rahman Kalam Allah, said that Yahya Dilo was killed on Wednesday, as he took refuge in his party’s headquarters. He added, “He did not want to surrender and opened fire on the law enforcement forces.”
Prosecutor Omar Muhammad Kadilay reported that Yahya Dilo was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces.
Yahya Dilo, who was the leader of the opposition "Socialist Party Without Borders", was accused of leading an attack that targeted the offices of the Internal Security Service on Tuesday evening, in which several people were killed, but Dilo yesterday denied any connection to the incident, denouncing what he described as a politically motivated "lie" and said, " "I wasn't there."
The attack on the headquarters of the Dilo Party came after the arrest of party member Ahmed Torabi on charges of involvement in an “assassination attempt targeting the President of the Supreme Court,” Samir Adam Al-Nour.
Members of the security forces roam the streets of the capital, N'Djamena (Reuters - Archive)
Delo confirmed in an audio message received by Agence France-Presse hours before his killing that the “Military Council” and the President of the Supreme Court “planned an operation to sabotage” the office of the latter, who was not even injured, to justify the annulment of his candidacy for the presidency.
In detail about that incident, the Secretary-General of the Opposition Party told Reuters that Turabi was shot dead the day before yesterday and his body was deposited at the headquarters of the Internal Security Service. Members of the party and relatives of Turabi went on Wednesday morning to search for his body in the Security Service building, but soldiers opened fire on them, causing several deaths. .
The agency quoted a witness as saying that calm returned to the capital this morning, and residents began to return to work, although Internet services that were blocked on Wednesday were not restored.
It is noteworthy that the attack on the headquarters of the "Socialist Party Without Borders" comes 3 years after a similar attack launched by the army on the headquarters of Dilo and his party, in which his mother and one of his sons were killed.
Dilo is considered an opponent of military rule and one of the most prominent advocates of democratic rule. He worked as a minister for his uncle, President Idriss Deby, in the first decade of the 21st century, before he fled the country following his accusation of defaming the First Lady, whom he accused of embezzling public funds on a large scale.
On Tuesday, Chad announced May 6th as the date for holding presidential elections, in which both Yahya Dilou and interim President Mohamed Idriss Deby were planning to run, which represents a transition to civilian rule, after 3 years of rule by the military junta led by Mohamed Idriss Deby.
Source: Agencies