Chad opposition leader Yaya Dillo Djerou killed in attack on party headquarters

The prominent opposition leader to Chad's ruling military council, Yaya Dillo Djerou, was killed in an attack targeting his party's headquarters, according to the government spokesperson confirmed to Agence France-Presse.

The spokesperson, Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah, stated that Yaya Dillo died on Wednesday "when he sought refuge in his party's headquarters. He did not want to surrender and opened fire on law enforcement forces."

Earlier, the prosecutor general reported casualties, "including Yaya Dillo," without providing details on the circumstances of his death.

Yaya Dillo, who led the opposition "Socialist Party Without Borders," was accused of leading an attack targeting the offices of the internal security agency on Tuesday night.

This came after the arrest of a party member accused of involvement in an "assassination attempt targeting the president of the Supreme Court."

In statements to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday, Dillo denied involvement in the incident, condemning it as "politically motivated falsehoods."

He said, "I was not present."

He also denounced the allegations of attempting to attack the president of the Supreme Court as "fabricated."

On Tuesday, Chad announced that it would hold presidential elections on May 6th, in which both Dillo and transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby were planning to run, knowing they are closely related.

AFP