Chadian troops were heavily deployed around the capital, N’Djamena, Thursday as officials said they were investigating a failed attack on the country’s presidential palace.
Government troops foiled an attack by 24 heavily armed assailants on Wednesday night, officials said. President Mahamat Idriss Deby was in the palace at the time, they said, but is in good health.
Eighteen attackers were killed on the spot, and the body of one attacker was found Thursday morning on the city’s streets, the military reported, adding that one member of the presidential guard died in the assault and two others were injured.
Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told state TV that some 10 suspects were arrested.
Koulamallah said that the reason for the attack is still undetermined but that it had nothing to do with a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met with Deby hours earlier in the palace to discuss increased economic and military ties.
The attack took place after Chad’s government on Wednesday reiterated an order, first issued last month, for French troops stationed in the country to leave by Jan. 31.
The reiteration followed remarks this week by French President Emmanuel Macron that African countries were ungrateful for France’s role in helping to fight jihadist insurgencies. In response, Deby said that Chad is not benefiting much from military agreements with Paris and that the order for French troops to leave was irreversible and nonnegotiable.
Government officials said reports on social media that the attack was carried out by armed groups that benefit from the presence of French troops and oppose military ties between Chad and China are unfounded.
The unusual presence of large numbers of government troops, tactical vehicles and armored cars unsettled some residents of N’djamena, but Chadian state TV advised people to remain calm. The message, broadcast several times Thursday, said people should go about their daily activities without fear.
Regardless, 27–year-old food seller Maimouna Yebgi said the presence of government troops on the streets scared people. Yebgi suggested that the troops would be better placed in villages outside the city center where the armed gangs that attacked the palace may be hiding.
