Through social media, Chad’s President Mahamat Déby Itno expressed his condolences to the families of fallen soldiers and assured that those responsible for the attack had been neutralized. He denounced that the assault carried out on Wednesday night against the presidential headquarters in N’Djamena aimed to assassinate him.

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In a statement on Facebook, Déby said: “Following the attack last night against the Presidency of the Republic by a group of malicious individuals, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims who fell heroically, arms in hand, and wish a swift recovery to the injured.” He emphasized that it would be up to the courts to clarify the events and impose appropriate sanctions on those guilty.

The Republic’s prosecutor, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, reported that the attack was executed by a group of “24 armed individuals aboard a vehicle [that] simulated a breakdown and took advantage of the situation to assault the guards on duty at the entrance of the Presidency.”

During the confrontation, six assailants were injured and taken to the hospital. Mahamat described the aggression as serious and announced that preliminary charges against the attackers include “murder, intentional injury, attempted assault on constitutional order, attacks on state institutions, threats to state security, conspiracy against the state, and participation in an insurrectionary movement.”

Government spokesman and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abderaman Koulamallah characterized the attackers as drugged individuals carrying bladed weapons and amulets. Koulamallah dismissed rumors linking the assailants to the jihadist group Boko Haram and rejected opposition theories suggesting that the attack could have been staged by the government.

To support their version of events, authorities released security camera footage showing attackers assaulting guards. Additionally, videos circulated on social media showing bodies of slain assailants inside the presidential palace.

The attack occurred just hours after Déby met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as part of a tour through Africa.

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