Army assault kills Chad opposition leader before poll

N’DJAMENA: A leading opponent of Chad’s ruling junta chief has died in an army assault on his party headquarters ahead of a May election when he was set to be the main rival to his cousin and transitional president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

It came amid high tension in the center of the capital N’Djamena on Wednesday when soldiers surrounded the party’s HQ and gunfire rang out and teargas was fired. The government spokesman said Thursday that four soldiers died and three party militants he described as “assailants”.

The assault took place the day after Chad announced it would hold a presidential election on May 6, ending three years of junta rule when Deby Itno took power after his father was killed fighting rebels.

Yaya Dillo Djerou, 49, who led the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), had been accused of leading an attack against the offices of the internal security agency overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday.

Later, internet access was cut in the capital and the army carried out an assault on the party’s main office, with automatic weapons fire heard. Dillo died on Wednesday “where he had retreated, at the headquarters of his party,” government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah, who is also communications minister, said on Thursday. “He didn’t want to surrender and fired on law enforcement,” he added. His body has been handed over to his family, with the funeral set for later Thursday, his family said.

‘Brought to justice’

Security forces had gone to arrest a PSF member accused by the government accused of an “assassination attempt” against the supreme court president 10 days earlier. The junta-led government blamed the party for the attack on the offices of the internal security agency as a reprisal. It said several people had been killed in the intelligence HQ attack but did not say who they were.

“Anyone looking to disturb the democratic process under way in the country will be prosecuted and brought to justice,” the government warned Wednesday. Speaking to AFP shortly before his death, Dillo denied any involvement in the incident, denouncing the claim as a “lie” and politically motivated.—AFP