Chad identifies presidential palace attackers
The recent attack on Chad’s presidential palace was carried out by a group of “drugged” men armed with knives and machetes, according to government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah.
The official made the comment during an interview on national television on Thursday, downplaying any possibility that the incident was a terrorist act, Reuters reported.
“These are people that came from a certain neighborhood of N’Djamena that I will not name. They did not have war weapons, their attempt was disorganized and completely incomprehensible,” Koulamallah said, according to the outlet.
The Sahel nation’s presidential palace in the capital of N’Djamena came under assault on Wednesday night, with reports of heavy gunfire in the city center. All roads to the building were closed to traffic, and the nearby streets to the president’s office were blocked by armored vehicles.
Earlier, Koulamallah said 19 people, including 18 militants and a presidential guard, had been killed in the foiled attack that reportedly lasted for about an hour.
On Thursday, he said that the attackers, who appeared to be drunk and under the influence of drugs, drove to the presidency in either one or two vehicles that seemed to have broken down at the entrance. They alighted and stabbed the four presidential guards on duty, killing one and injuring two, Koulamallah, who is also Chad’s foreign minister, reportedly said. He added that six of the assailants have been detained.
The Chadian government has been embroiled in a deadly decades-long conflict with rebels, including the Nigeria-based Boko Haram terror group, which has conducted cross-border raids. At least 40 of the landlocked state’s soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected terrorists last October.
The former French colony had been under military rule after Mahamat Idriss Deby took power in 2021 as interim leader after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, was killed fighting rebels. In May 2024, the country transitioned to civilian rule after Deby won elections held that month.
In November, N’Djamena terminated its security pact with France, stating that the treaty no longer reflected Chad’s security and strategic realities, as well as the government’s legitimate expectations for “full expression” of the country’s sovereignty. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, all former French colonies, have taken similar actions against Paris, accusing it of failing to defeat jihadists in the Sahel region.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized African nations for not appreciating France’s assistance in fighting terrorists and separatists over the past decade. In response, Koulamallah said Macron’s remarks “reflect a contemptuous attitude toward Africa.”
