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The attack on Wednesday night occurred while Chadian President
Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace, but authorities said
the situation was quickly brought under control.
“The situation is completely under control. There is no fear,”
Foreign Affairs Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said while
surrounded by soldiers in a live Facebook broadcast filmed
inside what appeared to be a quiet presidential palace late
Wednesday.
In an interview with state TV, Koulamallah praised the vigilance
of the palace guards, describing the attackers as disorganized
and intoxicated by alcohol and drugs. When asked if the attack
was terrorism, he said it was probably not, as the attackers
were local youths from the capital, N'Djamena.
The attack occurred the same day as a visit by Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi, who congratulated Deby Itno on reestablishing
constitutional order.
In the immediate aftermath, rumors spread online that the attack
was the work of Islamic militant group Boko Haram.
Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency more than a decade ago
against Western education, seeks to establish Islamic law in
Nigeria’s northeast. The insurgency has spread to neighboring
West African countries including Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Chad, a country of nearly 18 million people, has been reeling
from political turmoil before and after a controversial
presidential election that resulted in Deby Itno’s victory. He
had led the country as interim president during the period of
military rule that followed the death of his father in 2021.
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