Weapons clampdown in Chad
2004-09-19 21:33
Ndjamena - Chadian security forces on Sunday carried out a major pre-dawn raid to seize arms stocked in parts of the capital Ndjamena, including army barracks, a government statement read on national radio said.
"Some guns of all calibres and huge amounts of ammunition have been recovered," an official in the central African country's security forces earlier told AFP, asking not to be named.
The broadcast statement issued by a government spokesperson, Abakar Mallah, said that "security forces ... at 04:00 (03:00 GMT) carried out a search in some districts of Ndjamena," adding that weapons had been seized.
"The government informs and reassures people that this operation is part of a crackdown on insecurity and consequently asks for your understanding for any inconvenience caused," it said.
The security official said that the "presidential guard, the gendarmerie, the (Chadian) Nomad (and National Guard - GNNT) and the army encircled some districts and carried out searches".
The homes of senior army officers were among those raided, an AFP correspondent reported. Ndjamena's only mobile telephone network was also taken out of service, the correspondent said.
In the morning, large numbers of troops were deployed in administrative districts of the city, where military officers live, as well as around the garrisons of the town, but they were withdrawn during the day.
The official said the operation might have been the response to meetings held by soldiers who took part in what the government described as a "mutiny" against President Idriss Deby on May 16, which was swiftly brought to an end.
At the time, a source in the president's office said the uprising had been put down without violence, but Deby said the aim had been to assassinate him.
The rebellious soldiers, led by officers from elite army units, returned to their barracks after negotiations. The government has since reported no arrests or legal proceedings against those concerned. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA