In a tragic turn of events, Yaya Dillo, a prominent opposition figure in Chad, met his demise on Wednesday as he engaged in a fatal exchange of gunfire with security forces, as disclosed by state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye on Thursday.
The sound of intense gunfire reverberated through the capital city, N’Djamena, on that fateful Wednesday, echoing near the headquarters of Dillo’s opposition party, as reported by a witness.
This unsettling incident unfolded against a backdrop of earlier clashes near the building of Chad’s internal security agency, resulting in the loss of several lives.
The escalation of violence occurred amid heightened tensions in the lead-up to a pivotal presidential election scheduled for May and June.
This election holds the potential to mark a significant turning point for the Central African state, aiming to restore constitutional governance after a tumultuous period marked by a military takeover three years prior.
By Thursday morning, an air of calm had settled over the capital, and residents were gradually resuming their daily routines. However, the lingering absence of internet access, which had been blocked the previous day, added an undercurrent of uncertainty.
The preceding day saw the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders, led by Yaya Dillo, facing a security cordon around its headquarters orchestrated by the authorities. Discrepancies between the accounts provided by the government and the party only added to the complexity of the situation.
The government, in an official statement, claimed that the security agency had come under attack from representatives of the Socialist Party Without Borders, resulting in multiple casualties.
In a separate narrative, the government reported an alleged assassination attempt against the President of the Supreme Court, Samir Adam Annour, carried out by a party member, Ahmed Torabi, who was subsequently arrested.
Contrary to the government’s version, the opposition party’s general secretary revealed a different sequence of events. He asserted that the deaths near the security agency were a result of soldiers opening fire on a group of party members.
Additionally, he stated that Ahmed Torabi had been fatally shot on Tuesday, and his body was placed at the agency’s headquarters. When party members and Torabi’s relatives sought his remains on Wednesday morning, soldiers reportedly fired upon them, resulting in multiple fatalities.
The political landscape in Chad had already been charged as the Supreme Court approved a vote on a new constitution in December, sparking criticism for potentially consolidating the power of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby.
Deby’s military government was among several juntas governing West and Central Africa, contributing to a concerning trend of eight coups since 2020 and raising fears of a democratic regression in the region.
