Nine people died and 46 were injured when a fire set off explosions at a military ammunition depot in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said Wednesday.
Local media reported that the blasts started just before midnight on Tuesday and ran for more than 30 minutes. Nearby buildings shook and ammunition was thrown out of the depot with explosive force. The depot is in the Goudji district. Koulamallah said the 46 injured were being treated for various injuries.
“Our house was shaking as if someone were shooting at us,” resident Moustapha Adoum Mahamat told Reuters. “Then we saw a big fire at the military camp and smoke and things exploding in the air.” He added: “We could see artillery fly over us.”
Others thought they were under attack. Resident Oumar Mahamat said people in the area panicked, believing the explosion was an armed assault. Allamine Moussa, who fled his home with other residents, asked the government to “come to our aid urgently.” He said: “Many families have recorded deaths and it’s sad.”
What the images show
CNN authenticated and geolocated video that showed a large fireball and sparks rising into the night sky near the international airport. Maxar Technologies satellite imagery showed 17 structures destroyed at the depot, in two groups at opposite ends of the complex. It is unclear whether multiple explosions destroyed them all. The airport, a few kilometers away, was not affected, authorities said.
Response and investigation
Security and health officials were sent to the area, and Koulamallah urged residents to stay calm. Authorities told people to keep out while security forces collected scattered artillery shells.
President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno wrote on Facebook that the fire “caused human and material damage.” He sent condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a quick recovery. He did not give a death toll. He said an investigation would look into the cause, which was not immediately clear.
Chad, a country of nearly 18 million people, has been dealing with political turmoil before and after a disputed presidential election that Deby Itno won. He had served as interim president during the military rule that followed his father’s death in 2021. Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the explosion “feels more like a message” to the government. He pointed to the internal political crisis and to regional tensions over the war in neighboring Sudan, where claims about Chad’s alleged involvement put it, in his words, “on both sides of the war in Sudan.” Hudson, a former US official, said it “creates an untenable position at home for Deby.”
Sources
- Chad military arms depot blast leaves 9 dead | CNN
- Nine killed, 46 injured in Chad's capital after ammunition depot explosions
