A fire at a military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, ignited a series of explosions on Tuesday night, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Koulamallah Abderaman. Witnesses reported at least one fatality and multiple injuries.
A resident from a nearby neighborhood observed three injured individuals, with two being transported to the hospital on motorbikes.
Images shared by media showed spent artillery shells in homes. Another local reported that a shell struck and killed his neighbor, a shopkeeper.
“Loud blasts woke us up,” said resident Moustapha Adoum Mahamat. “Our house was shaking as if we were under attack. We saw a big fire at the military camp, smoke, and explosions in the air. Artillery was flying over us.”
Explosions continued for over an hour and a half after the initial blasts. Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah, also the government spokesman, posted on Facebook urging calm amid the “huge explosions.”
An anonymous senior army official informed AFP that the largest ammunition depot in N’Djamena had caught fire. The depot is located in a residential area near the international airport and a French military base.
A French military official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that the blaze caused explosions of ammunition of all calibres.
Chad’s current leader, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, officially won 61% of the May 6 vote, which international NGOs criticized as neither credible nor free. His main opponent called the election a “masquerade.” Deby was declared transitional president in April 2021 by a junta of 15 generals after his father, long-time president Idriss Deby Itno, was killed by rebels following 30 years in power.
