Chad looks into the unsuccessful attempt to break into the presidential compound

The public prosecutor stated Thursday that a group of two dozen armed “ill-intentioned individuals” carried out a failed attempt on Chad’s presidential residence overnight, but that the incident’s specifics were yet unknown.

As the military closed off nearby streets on Wednesday night, gunshots burst near the president’s office in the capital, N’Djamena. Later, the government said that the situation was under control and that it had stopped an attempt to destabilize the nation.

The strike comes as Chad, a crucial Western ally in the war against Islamist terrorists in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa, just canceled a defense cooperation agreement with longtime partner France.

For almost ten years, the area has been torn apart by insurgencies, including those involving organizations connected to Boko Haram, al Qaeda, and Islamic State.

In favor of Russian military assistance, military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—which borders Chad—have recently abandoned the West.

24 armed attackers drove up to the presidential palace on Wednesday night, pretended to have a breakdown, and attacked security personnel stationed at the gate, killing two and seriously wounding five others as they attempted to enter the area, according to Chad’s public prosecutor.

According to the prosecution, security personnel killed 18 of the attackers and injured six more, who were then sent to a hospital.

According to a statement from the prosecutor, investigations have been started to find all of the instigators and accomplices.

Government spokeswoman Abderaman Koulamallah claimed in a previous national television appearance that the attackers, who appeared drunk and disoriented, were only carrying knives and machetes.

There was still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the incident, according to security officials and researchers, which led to conjecture that it might be connected to terrorist organizations, ethnic conflicts, or unhappiness about the aftermath of a war in neighboring Sudan.

According to a security source in N’Djamena, “it is too early to draw conclusions over exactly what happened,”

It was “probably not” a terrorist act, according to Koulamallah.

“TENSIONS HIGH”

On Thursday morning, N’Djamena was at peace as everyday activities resumed. Although some locals claimed the military was still preventing access to the districts surrounding the presidency, there was no more gunfire during the night.

After his father, longtime President Idriss Deby, was slain by insurgents, Mahamat Idriss Deby took over as president of Chad.

Since a military takeover in the early 1990s, the elder Deby had governed Chad, one of the poorest nations in Africa despite having vast oil resources.

According to Crisis Group analyst Enrica Picco, the speed and vigor with which the attackers were eliminated indicated that the president was already on guard.

“Tensions are very high at the presidential palace,” she stated. “Deby knows that he has a lot of enemies who want to replace him or change the way Chad is dealing with different crises.”