Several killed as security forces foil coup attempt in Chad

USPA News - At least several people were killed in a gun battle in the Chadian capital of N`Djamena late on Wednesday in what the government described as a failed coup attempt against President Idriss Deby, but authorities emphasized that the situation was under control. The coup attempt happened late on Wednesday when "a small group of intruders" attempted to take action to destabilize the institutions of the republic, government spokesman Hassan Sylla Bakary said.

He said the group had been planning the coup attempt for more than four months. "They did not recon the defense and security forces which had followed them since December 2012 and [on Wednesday] completely neutralized them out of harm`s way," Bakary said. "The main conspirators were arrested and handed over to the public prosecutor for the purpose of an investigation." Bakary provided few details about the events or the identities of those involved in the coup attempt, but he emphasized that the situation had been brought under control. "The government assures the public that the situation is under full control and people should go about their business as normal," he said. One security source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a gun battle between security forces and the conspirators took place in the capital N`Djamena late on Wednesday. He said several people had been killed in the fighting, but he could not say how many or whether they were suspects or security forces. The Central African nation of Chad, which was plagued by chronic disorder for decades after it won independence from France in 1960, has a long history of coups. Deby himself rose to power in 1990 when he led rebel troops into the capital, meeting virtually no resistance as then-President Hissène Habré and his top aides had already fled to neighboring Cameroon.