Chad: A look back at yesterday’s attack on the presidential palace Wednesday January 8, 2025 – HEADLINES

January 9, 2025Salomon Albert NTAP

Chad: Situation under control after attack on the Presidential Palace

Heavy gunfire shook the Chadian capital on Wednesday January 8 near the Presidential Palace. Unofficial security and local sources report clashes that took place in the area with heavy and automatic weapons fire around 8:15 p.m.

The attack is believed to be the work of the terrorist group Boko Haram although the identity of the attackers has not been confirmed, report the same sources. Soldiers were deployed in the adjacent streets to catch up with them.

Images of several members of the assault leaked last night on the networks, suggesting the violence of the clashes between the two camps. We see corpses of people dressed as civilians along the ground. Nothing has filtered out about the presence of President Deby at the time of the events according to the same local sources.

The initial toll of this attack amounts to 18 deaths and 6 survivors among the attackers and two deaths among elements of the presidential guard, indicated on Télé Tchad, the spokesperson for the Chadian government, Abderaman Koumallah who in passing specified that the heavily armed commando included 24 intoxicated, Arabic-speaking people transported by one or two buses from a southern district of N’Djamena.

As a reminder, it was around 7:15 p.m. local time that numerous exchanges of small arms fire but also artillery were heard in the area housing the presidency of Chad. Street fighting also reportedly punctuated this attack.

Questions still remain about the origin of this attack. The investigation by the prosecutor announced at the scene of the incident will provide explanations for this attack.

According to several local media, the situation has since been under control. Statements confirmed by Mahamat Saleh, Minister of Infrastructure.

The questions raised by the attack on Wednesday January 8:

The attack on Wednesday January 8, 2025 is a reminder of the fragility of peace in Chad. If the authorities have been able to stop the latter, it is important to ask the right questions and find the right answers capable of promoting a permanent security situation in this Central African country.

It should be remembered that terrorist attacks also have repercussions not only on the security level but also on the economic level.

It is known that money does not like noise, insecurity discourages investors and harms tourism. Two sectors of national life necessary to increase economic growth in Chad.

Furthermore, the psychosis created among populations can lead to major internal displacements, thereby increasing the need for humanitarian aid.

A long-term exit route:

Several solutions combining effectiveness and efficiency can be considered in order to definitively put an end to this persistent insecurity.

The authorities will have to invest more in the training and equipment of security and national defense forces so that they can respond diligently and promptly to emergency situations.

Strong and lasting partnerships with neighboring countries, notably Cameroon and Nigeria, also under the threat of terrorism, must be established with major emphasis on the sharing of intelligence and the deployment of joint actions and operations.

Programs to exorcise young people from the signals of extremism must be put in place and to provide them with decent training and employment opportunities.

But again, we will need to raise citizen awareness about the dangers of terrorism in order to deconstruct the utopia of extremism in everyone’s consciousness by encouraging them to report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

The attack on Ndjamena rings like a gong but still a challenge about the fragility of peace in Chad. While it is to be welcomed that the authorities were able to put the attackers out of harm’s way, a proactive and holistic approach is required from the Chadian government to ensure security and a prosperous future in the country.

The sub-regional approach, the collaboration between the authorities, the security forces and the population will be undeniable in the opinion of several observers to succeed in this sovereign mission which falls to the Chadian authorities.