An opposition leader in Chad, Yaya Dillo has been killed during a shootout with security forces, officials say.
Yaya Dillo’s death comes after the government blamed him for a deadly attack on the country’s security agency. He denied the accusation.
On Wednesday, heavy gunfire was heard near his party’s headquarters in the capital, N’Djamena. Dillo was a vocal opponent of his cousin, President Mahamat Déby, who has been in power since 2021.
Déby succeeded his father who was killed by rebels after three decades in power.
The unrest in the Central African country follows the announcement that presidential elections will be held on 6 May. These elections are intended to return the country to constitutional rule.
Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told the press that Dillo died on Wednesday, where he had retreated, at the headquarters of his party. He didn’t want to surrender and fired on law enforcement.
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The death of Dillo, a former rebel who was the cousin of the country’s president, as well as his most vocal critic leaves a void in Chad’s political opposition less than three months before national elections are set to be held.
Chadian officials said previously that there had been an attack on the country’s National Security Agency, and accused Mr. Dillo’s party, the Socialist Party Without Borders, of being behind it which Dillo denied.
In a news conference broadcast on national television on Thursday, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, the national prosecutor, accused Mr. Dillo of heading a band of armed men that had launched an attack on the intelligence agency.
“This well-armed group in 11 vehicles attacked the National Security Agency, and this attack led to dozens of people wounded, and deaths, among them Yaya Dillo,” Mr. Kedelaye said.
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