Chad: Opposition Leader Killed in Gun Fight

Facts

• The leader of Chad's opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), Yaya Dillo, was killed during a gun battle involving security forces near the party's headquarters in the capital N'Djamena.¹
• This follows separately reported gun fights on Wednesday in which the government claims members of the PSF opened fire on the national security agency, adding that a member of PSF, Ahmed Torabi, tried to assassinate the head of the Supreme Court.²
• However, the PSF claims that it was soldiers who fired upon its party members and then dumped Torabi's body at the organization's headquarters — adding that his relatives were fired upon when they went looking for his remains.²
• Chad is run by Pres. Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who took power after his father was killed in 2021 — an incident analysts believe was a coup but hasn't been criticized by the West as much as coups in nations like Niger and Sudan. Dillo is the president's cousin and notable critic.³
• Dillo had called the attack on the security agency, which took place hours after the country announced it would hold elections on May 6, 'staged.' After postponing the election over the past 18 months, Deby has now pledged to hand over power to an elected government.⁴
• This also follows a Supreme Court ruling in December allowing the country to vote on a new constitution, though critics believe it will be used to keep Déby in power²

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²The Guardian, ³The New York Times and ⁴Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. Due to violent outbursts from members of the PSF, the past few days have been tragic for the people of Chad. Yaya Dillo led an attempted coup against the security agency, which resulted in soldiers returning fire and ending his life along with those of his fellow militants.
• Narrative B, as provided by Agenzia Nova. This was not a coup attempt by the PSF but rather Pres. Déby's latest attack on his political opponents. Weeks before this tragedy, Déby's intelligence forces and riot police surrounded the home of another opposition candidate and arrested him. If this was a coup, it was a coup against democracy in Chad.

Predictions