In Chad, opponent Yaya Dillo died yesterday from injuries sustained in the attack on his party headquarters. The announcement was made on February 29 by Ndjamena High Court prosecutor Oumar Kebellaye during a press conference. According to the public prosecutor's office, there were “dozens of injured and dead” and “26 people were arrested.” By midday, calm had returned, but the internet was still interrupted in the Chadian capital.
Published on: 02/29/2024 – 12:33
2 minutes
With our correspondent in Ndjamena, Carol Valade
At the headquarters of the Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), we can see the bullet-riddled building behind the soldiers who still refuse access. The number of impacts and the gaping holes in the walls testify to the violence of the attack that resulted in the death of opponent Yaya Dillo Chad.
In a press conference on February 29, 2024 in Ndjamena, prosecutor Oumar Kebellaye retraced the course of events without giving a precise assessment, but added that the PSF financial officer whose arrest triggered this vicious circle of violence on Tuesday evening, March 27, February, contrary to what his party had announced, was alive and well.
“A very bad signal for the upcoming elections”
Yaya Dillo, cousin of the late Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, died on February 28, three years to the day after an initial arrest attempt at his home that killed his mother and one of his sons. He himself only narrowly escaped before going into exile for several months.
Read alsoChad: Calm returns to Ndjamena after midday shooting
“The Chadian people should not worry about these family rivalries within the clan that has held power for more than 30 years,” protests opponent Brice Mbäimon, who sits on the National Transitional Council (CNT). This is not normal in a republic and a very bad signal for the upcoming elections.”
During another press conference this Thursday, the Secretary General of MPS, the Mahamat Zen Bada party founded by former President Idriss Deby, expressed very harsh words against the late opponent: “So-called political actors have tried to undermine the transition process is coming to an end” , he explained, before reaffirming his support for the president of the transition, Mahamat Idriss Déby, the candidate chosen by the party for the presidential elections, the first round of which is scheduled for next May 6.
Read also Chad: The electoral calendar becomes clearer with the first round of presidential elections on May 6th