Two killed and five wounded on Sunday, February 28 in N’Djamena, during the attempted arrest of Yaya Dillo Djerou, the opponent and declared candidate for the April 11 presidential election in Chad against Idriss Déby Itno, who has been in power for 30 years.
Yaya Dillo Djerou, a former rebel leader, had joined President Déby in 2007, becoming his minister before holding several presidential advisory positions. He then served as Chad’s representative to the Commission of Central African States (Cémac) until 2020.
A Presidential Candidate at Risk
On Friday, he submitted his candidacy for the April 11 presidential election, in which President Déby is seeking a new term, and is now calling for a change of regime.
“Following a systematic refusal for 48 hours of Yaya Dillo, supported by a group of armed people, to respond to two judicial mandates,” he “has strongly defied the authority of the state by putting up armed resistance,” said the government spokesman. “The defense and security forces (…) have been fired upon” from the home of the opponent and “had no choice but to respond in self-defense,” he said. “The government condemns in the strongest possible terms this armed rebellion in the heart of the capital, which is nothing more than an attempt to destabilize the institutions of the state that has been fomented for a long time. »
During the night, Yaya Dillo, who is also President Deby‘s nephew and belongs to the same ethnic group, the Zaghawa, had indicated on his Facebook page that his home was surrounded by the army and the police.
They just killed my mother and several of my relatives,” he wrote a few minutes later. “An armored car broke down my front door. The fight for justice must continue to save our country. (…) My dear compatriots, let’s get up!
Yaya Dillo Djerou – Chadian opponent
Interruption of Internet and all communication
All internet and telephone networks were very disrupted in N’Djamena. Armed and military were squaring the roads leading to the home of Yaya Dillo, in the Karkandjie district, forbidding the perimeter to pedestrians, noted an AFP journalist. Three tanks also surrounded Dillo’s house. But in the rest of the city, life was going on.
For several weeks, the government has systematically banned, because “likely to cause disturbances to public order”, any demonstration by the opposition and civil society calling for alternation and more social justice.
In early February, Abdoulaye Diarra, Central Africa researcher at Amnesty International, also denounced “arbitrary arrests”: “All of this confirms a narrowing of the civic space in Chad in the run-up to the elections. »
Every Chadian is required to respect the laws of the country. When you get in the way of the law, don’t be surprised. You are not above the law (…) I do not accept disorder.
Idriss Déby – President of Chad
Yaya Dillo is paying a heavy price, but each of us will continue to pay this heavy price. This is indicative of the fact that this country is totally sick,” reacted on Facebook the opponent Succès Masra, leader of the party Les Transformateurs, who spent nearly a week taking refuge in the perimeter of the U.S. Embassy to escape the police during a march on February 6, the day of the nomination by his party of Mr. Déby’s candidacy for a sixth term.
