This outbreak of violence precedes the presidential elections set for May 6, which are intended to re-establish constitutional governance.
In Chad, a confrontation between security forces and opposition leader Yaya Dillo resulted in Dillo’s death, as confirmed by authorities. The government had previously implicated Dillo in a lethal assault on the nation’s security agency, an allegation he contested.
The incident unfolded with intense gunfire in proximity to the opposition party’s central office in N’Djamena, the capital city, this past Wednesday. Dillo had been an outspoken adversary of President Mahamat Déby since Déby assumed power in 2021, following the death of his father, who had governed for three decades.
This outbreak of violence precedes the presidential elections set for May 6, which are intended to re-establish constitutional governance.
Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah conveyed to AFP that Dillo engaged in a firefight with law enforcement after refusing to surrender, leading to his demise at the headquarters of his political party.
Dillo had expressed on Wednesday that the charges of orchestrating the attack on the National Security Agency (ANSE) were designed to intimidate him into withdrawing from the upcoming election.
A colleague of Dillo, serving as the general secretary of his Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), reported to Reuters that PSF members were assaulted by military personnel outside the ANSE building while attempting to recover the remains of their associate Ahmed Torabi.
The PSF representative disclosed that Torabi had been detained and fatally shot the day prior, and his body was subsequently left outside the ANSE premises.
The government alleges that Torabi had engaged in an attempt to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court.
