About 19 people have lost their lives following an attempted coup which took place at presidential complex in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad on Wednes
About 19 people have lost their lives following an attempted coup which took place at presidential complex in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad on Wednesday, January 8.
This was revealed via a statement by the country’s foreign minister, Abderaman Koulamallah.
Koulamallah noted that the assailants who were made up of 24 commandos attacked the presidential complex, but met a superior firepower which led to the death of 18 of them and one security officer.
He said, “There were 18 dead and six injured among the attackers and we suffered one death and three injured, one of them seriously.”
Adding that, “The situation is completely under control and the destabilization attempt has been thwarted.”
An anonymous security officials had earlier claimed the attackers were members of the Boko Haram jihadist group, but Koulamallah stated that they are not terrorists and he referred to them as drunken ‘Pieds Nickeles’ which is a term from a French comic about bumbling criminals.
He stated that the attackers assaulted four guards before entering the presidential complex, where they were easily subdued.
The minister also mentioned that the remaining assailants appeared to be completely drugged.
Chad, a landlocked country, is currently under military rule and frequently faces attacks from Boko Haram, particularly in the western Lake Chad region, which borders Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.
The country recently ended a military agreement with its former colonial power, France and has faced accusations of meddling in the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.
All roads leading to the presidency were blocked and armoured tanks have been deployed on the streets.
