19 Killed In Chad Presidential Complex Attack, Government Reacts

At least 19 people were killed on Wednesday evening following an armed attack on Chad’s presidential complex in the capital, N’Djamena.

Gunfire erupted near the presidential building around 7:45 p.m., with tanks deployed on the streets. According to government spokesperson and foreign minister Abderaman Koulamallah, the attack was carried out by a 24-member armed commando unit.

“There were 18 dead and six injured among the 24-strong commando unit that launched the assault, and we suffered one death and three injured, one of them seriously,” Koulamallah confirmed.

He added that the situation is “completely under control,” and the “destabilisation attempt was put down.”

Initially suspected to be Boko Haram members, Koulamallah later dismissed this possibility, describing the attackers as “probably not” terrorists but rather drunken criminals.

Referring to the assailants as “Pieds Nickelés,” a French comic reference for bungling crooks, he said the surviving attackers appeared “completely drugged.”

The armed group reportedly confronted four guards before breaching the presidential complex, where they were “easily overpowered.”

The attack comes amid ongoing security challenges in Chad, a nation under military rule that frequently faces threats from Boko Haram, especially in the western Lake Chad region.

In recent months, Chad has also ended a military agreement with its former colonial ruler, France, adding to regional tensions.

Just hours before the attack, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno and other senior officials, underscoring Chad’s strategic importance in international diplomacy.