The sky over Ndjamena burst into flames on Tuesday evening, June 18, around 10:30 p.m. local time, a fire of unknown origin broke out in an ammunition depot located near the city center, killing 9 people and injuring 46, according to the government. President Mahamat Idriss Deby promised “ measurements », the opening of an investigation and the State taking charge of the injured.
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With our correspondent in Ndjamena, Carol Valade
Of the ammunition depot, all that remains is a vast crater and in the middle of a field of ruins, in the early morning, when Prime Minister Allah-Maye Halina comes to see the damage: “ I would like to reassure the Chadian population and particularly those of Ndjamena. The situation is under control and contained. The population can go about their business normally. »
In the neighborhood, the houses are gutted. The ground is littered with ammunition. “ The door, the windows… Everything is brokendescribes Ahmat Abakar, a 24-year-old civil servant, presenting his house gutted by the explosion. This is where I slept. There was damage and noise, especially the sound of shells. We were afraid. Many fled in the night. » The roof is torn. The windows blown out by the shock wave. A little girl was injured. “ She was sleeping here during the event. The blood we see is that of the little girl. She lost a lot of blood here. »
Residents like Oumar Issa are boiling with anger: “ We had feared this for a long time in a city where there are camps everywhere. Two years ago, we asked to remove this camp, but without any response. We got there, you see everything was destroyed. » Ahmat Abakar is of the same opinion, the tragedy could have been avoided. “ It is not the first time. This is the second, there was 2017 and now. The state should avoid this. The people have long demanded that the camp be moved outside the city, but they have not been listened to. The material damage is considerable. »
In a press conference, the Minister of the Armed Forces promised to build more secure warehouses and move those that are too close to the city center. “ The studies are already done. I’m not going to tell you the secret here, there is not just one strategic camp, but the movement of these is being studied. »
To identify these munitions projected all over the city, the Ministry of Security has set up an emergency number aimed at facilitating the work of mine clearance workers, whose task promises to be titanic.
Mahamat Limane, Minister of Territorial Administration, assures that there will be an investigation into the origin of the disaster