A government spokesman said on Wednesday that explosions at a military weapons storage in the capital of Chad resulted in nine fatalities and over forty injuries.
46 individuals are receiving treatment for a variety of injuries following the explosions in the Goudji area of the capital, N’Djamena, according to spokeswoman Abderaman Koulamallah.
According to local media, the explosions began shortly before midnight on Tuesday and continued for more than thirty minutes, during which time neighboring buildings trembled and explosively-hurled munitions was released from the stockpile.
Explosions and fire at a military munitions storage in Chad’s capital killed casualties and set off frantic efforts to put out the fire and heal the wounded, authorities and witnesses said Wednesday.
Thick smoke enveloped the clouds in the West African nation as the explosions occurred late on Tuesday at the N’Djamena depot, lighting up the sky.
“Material and human damage were caused by the fire,” President Mahamat Deby Itno said on Facebook. “Sincere condolences to the bereaved families, peace to the souls of the victims, and speedy recovery to the injured.”
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He withheld the total number of deaths. The president declared that an investigation will be carried out even though the source of the incident was not immediately apparent.
According to local media, the explosions began just before midnight and continued for over thirty minutes, during which time neighboring buildings trembled and explosively-hurled munitions was released from the stockpile.
Security personnel had taken over the area and were recovering the scattered artillery shells when the authorities issued a warning to the locals to avoid the area.
According to Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the explosion “feels more like a message” to the government of Chad, which has been embroiled in both an internal political crisis with the recent election and regional tensions with the war in neighboring Sudan. Therefore, the explosion may not be entirely coincidental.
According to former U.S. official Hudson, recent allegations of Chad’s purported involvement place the nation “on both sides of the war in Sudan and creates an untenable position at home for Deby.” “A divided house cannot stand.”
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