Prominent opposition leader killed in attack he led against Chad’s security agency

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An opposition leader in Chad was among several people killed as he led an attack on the national security agency in the country’s capital this week, the state prosecutor said Thursday.

The attack underscored the tenuous situation in the central African country of Chad ahead of a presidential election scheduled for May 6.

The killed leader, Yaya Dillo, was the current president’s cousin and a strong contender in the upcoming election. He headed the Socialist Party Without Borders, which was behind Wednesday’s attack at the National State Security Agency.

DAY AFTER ELECTION DATE SET IN CHAD, OPPOSITION GROUP ATTACKS SECURITY AGENCY IN CAPITAL

State Prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye said Dillo was among several killed but did not elaborate on the circumstances of his death or say who shot him.

This picture taken in N’djamena on April 23, 2021 shows the Chad flag floating on a monument at the “Place de la Nation” during the late president Idriss Deby’s state funeral. (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)

The well-armed attackers, in more than 10 vehicles, drove up and stormed the agency’s offices in the country’s capital of N’Djamena. At least two dozen people have been arrested and investigations are underway, Kedelaye said.

The attack followed the arrest earlier Wednesday of the opposition party’s finance secretary for allegedly trying to assassinate the president of the country’s supreme court.

Chad’s interim president, Mahamat Deby Itno, seized power after his father who ran the country for more than three decades was killed fighting rebels in 2021. Last year, the government announced it was extending the 18-month transition for two more years, which led to protests across the country.

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Internet was cut in Chad on Wednesday afternoon and had not been restored by late Thursday.