Yaya Dillo Djerou, the 49-year-old leader of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders and cousin of Chad’s current transitional president, Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby, was killed in a gun battle with security forces in the capital N'Djamena on Wednesday, state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye said Thursday, amid reports of heavy gunfire near the party headquarters.
Masra, who was appointed to his post in January 2024, offered condolences to Diallo's family and several others who were killed at the nation's internal security agency in earlier fighting, for which the government and opposition blame each other.
“My condolences, not just to his (Diallo's) family, but my condolences to the families of all the victims, on all sides,” Masra told VOA. “In this affair, there were soldiers who died, there were civilians who died. I can't distinguish between the blood of a Chadian soldier and that of a Chadian civilian, and so my condolences go out to all of them because their blood is the blood of a Chadian that is still flowing.”
Masra said an investigation into the recent attacks is underway.
“The conclusions of this investigation will enable us to find out what happened over a number of days when institutions were at stake, but beyond institutions, human lives were taken, and so this is very serious,” he said.
Earlier this week, Chad's election body had announced that the presidential vote would take place in two rounds, on May 6 and June 22, potentially marking the transition from military to civilian rule.
Masra said Chadians should look forward to the elections despite the current challenges, but would not state his own intentions on running.
Masra, who in 2018 founded the opposition Les Transformateurs (The Transformers) party, lived in exile in the U.S. before returning to Chad in January.
“The question of my person is not important in this matter. It's a choice that has to be personal for everyone. What is important is that we have put in place totally independent institutions which have decided on an agenda, and so our role as a government is to ensure that there is an open election,” he said, adding that the electoral body is “totally independent” and “unchangeable” in its mandate.
Mahamat Idriss Deby has held power since 2021 after his father, former President Idriss Deby, died in a battle against rebels.
Chadians voted in favor of a new constitution in December that would allow Mahamat Idriss Deby to run for president.
The government is committed to paving a path to a smooth transition, Masra said.
“This is also where we should rethink and find in this difficult situation a stone of hope and make sure that through the reconciliation and through unity, we make sure that we have a soft landing to make sure that by the end of the year Chadian people can choose their leaders.”
Masra's trip to Washington this week was intended rally support for his country, he said, in areas such as security, counterterrorism, climate change and humanitarian issues.
“We have to conduct the transition to the end through the organization of the elections. But we have a new elephant in the room, which is the question of the refugees, because the situation collapsed in Sudan and we welcome more than 1,000,000 people in Chad,” he said.
Aside from the political turmoil, Chad's resources have been spread thin, the prime minister said, calling for assistance from international partners.
“We are trying to build and this is why we are asking the international community and our friends internationally to help us,” said Masra. “We are not asking, we are not begging, we are saying we stood up with dignity and now we want people to come and help us and we know our vision is clear. The what we are looking for is the support.”
Some information in this report came from Reuters. VOA's Jackson Mvunganyi and Alexandrine Holognon contributed to this report.
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