Chad’s government announced that security forces thwarted an attempt to destabilize the country on Wednesday evening following gunfire near the presidential office in the capital, N’Djamena. Military personnel swiftly blocked off surrounding streets, and officials assured citizens that the situation was under control.

In a video recorded at the presidential headquarters, government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah described the incident as minor and said calm had been restored. “It was a little incident … everything is calm,” he stated in the footage shared on Facebook. “This whole attempt at destabilisation has been thwarted.”

The events unfolded during an official visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, adding a diplomatic dimension to the unrest. Chad recently ended a long-standing defense pact with France, a key Western ally in combating Islamic militants in the Sahel region, marking a significant geopolitical shift.

Koulamallah, seen in the video with a handgun on his hip alongside soldiers armed with assault rifles, promised more details in due course. A security source, speaking anonymously, described the incident as a terrorist attack, explaining that individuals in three vehicles attempted to assault military camps near the president’s office but were neutralized by the army.

Eyewitness accounts painted a tense scene in N’Djamena. Abbas Mahamout Seid, a resident caught near Place de Nation on his motorcycle, recounted hearing intense gunfire and witnessing military vehicles converging on the area.

Chad is led by President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who assumed power in 2021 after the death of his father, long-serving President Idriss Deby, during a battle with northern militias. The elder Deby had ruled the oil-rich but impoverished nation since seizing power in a 1990 coup.

While the government insists the situation is under control, questions remain about the nature and origins of the attempted attack. Further details are expected to shed light on the incident.