Chad says foiled attack on presidency was work of disorganised, intoxicated group

An attack on Chad's presidency compound foiled by security forces on Wednesday was carried out by a disorganised band of intoxicated men wielding knives and machetes who were easily neutralised, the government spokesperson said.

Bursts of gunfire rang out near the president's office in the capital N'Djamena on Wednesday night as the military blocked surrounding streets. The government said later that security forces had foiled an attempt to destabilise the Central African country and that the situation was completely under control.

In a follow-up interview on national television, government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said a group of 24 assailants carrying knives and machetes, who seemed under the influence of alcohol and drugs, drove up to the presidency in one or two vehicles that appeared to break down at the entrance.

He said they dismounted and stabbed the four presidential guards manning the entrance, killing one and injuring two.

The group then proceeded a short distance into the presidency before guards opened fire, killing 18 and detaining the surviving six, Koulamallah said.

He said the public prosecutor would provide more details on Thursday, but that it was "probably not" a terrorist act.

"These are people that came from a certain neighbourhood of N'Djamena that I will not name. They did not have war weapons, their attempt was disorganised and completely incomprehensible."

N'Djamena was calm on Thursday morning with daily life resuming its course. There was no additional gunfire during the night, although some residents said the military was still blocking access to neighbourhoods around the presidency.

Chad is led by President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power after rebels killed his father, longstanding President Idriss Deby, as he was visiting troops fighting militias in the north of the country in 2021. The older Deby had ruled Chad, which is rich in oil resources but one of the poorest countries in Africa, since a military coup in the early 1990s.

His son recently scrapped a defence cooperation pact with longtime partner France that had made Chad a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in West and Central Africa's Sahel region, which has been plagued by coups in recent years.