Chad Capital Calm After Deadly Presidential Palace Assault

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Chad’s capital was calm early on Thursday, the morning after armed men attacked the presidential palace, sparking a battle that killed 19 people, mostly assailants, according to the government.

According to AFP journalists, roadblocks and impromptu security had been removed from the area around the presidential palace, where traffic was resumed.

Heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential complex just before 8: 00 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Wednesday in the centre of N’Djamena, the capital of the military-ruled, central African country.

A 24-member commando unit carrying “weapons, machetes, and knives” attacked the presidential palace, according to government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah, before being quickly stopped.

READ ALSO: Gunfire Heard Near Presidency In Chad Capital

Abderaman Koulamallah, the president’s spokesman, and the foreign minister of Chad are pictured surrounded by soldiers as they enter the presidential palace after a lot of gunfire breaks out in N’Djamena in this video grab from @Abderaman Koulamallah’s Facebook account on January 8, 2025. (Photo by @Abderaman Koulamallah/Facebook / AFP)

He claimed that the group was wearing civilian clothing and that they were from a poor south of the city.

They were drunken “Pieds Nickeles,” according to Koulamallah, in a reference to a French comic featuring hapless crooks.

He claimed late on Wednesday that six of the assailants had been injured and 18 had died. Three other people were hurt in addition to the president’s security guard, according to the report.

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

No further information was provided by Koulamallah, who is also the foreign minister, who told AFP that Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was inside the presidential palace at the time of the attack.

On January 9, 2025, in the Djambal Bahr district of N’Djamena, a general view of motorcyclists and pedestrians is seen on a street. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP).

Opposition members have voiced doubts about the government’s account of events.

Max Kemkoye, spokesman for the Political Actors ‘ Consultation Group (GCAP), spoke on Thursday of an “unfortunate synopsis” and a “set up” orchestrated by those in power.

Later in the day, the prosecutor is expected to make a statement as well, according to the government spokesman, who said he would address accredited diplomats.