Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo was killed Wednesday in a shootout with security forces in the capital, N’Djamena, state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye confirmed Thursday.
Dillo, who led the Socialist Party Without Borders, was set to be the leading opposition to his cousin and current transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, during elections in May.
A government spokesperson said Thursday that four soldiers died during the attacks as well as three “assailants” who were members of Dillo’s party.
Ten days before the shooting, opposition member Ahmed Torabi was accused of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court President Samir Adam Annour. Torabi was arrested, the government said.
Members of the opposition party and Torabi’s family searched for him near the internal security agency building, where the shootout occurred.
The government and the opposition party had different accounts of the exchange.
A government statement said the security agency was attacked by members of the Socialist Party Without Borders.
According to the party, whose general secretary recounted the events to the Reuters news agency, the deaths near the security agency were a result of soldiers firing at family and party members who went to the security agency to look for Torabi.
Dillo was accused of leading an attack against the security agency overnight on Tuesday, a claim he denied. He also told Agence France-Presse before his death on Wednesday that the attack against Annour was “staged” and meant to “physically eliminate” him before the election.
Dillo’s family said they had received his body and that his funeral was planned for Thursday.
His death came a day after a surprise announcement that Chad's presidential election would be held on May 6 instead of in October as anticipated.
Chad’s electoral commission said elections would return the country to constitutional order and would mark the end of Deby's transitional period, which started in 2021.
In December, Chad's Supreme Court voted on a new constitution, which according to critics could cement Deby's power in the government after May's election.
Some information for this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
