Chad opposition leader Yaya Dillo killed in shooting

N'DJAMENA, Chad

An Opposition leader in Chad Yaya Dillo has been killed in a clash with security forces in Chad, officials report.

Dillo was accused by the government of involvement in a deadly attack on the country's security agency, which he denied.

Heavy gunfire erupted near his party's headquarters in the capital, N'Djamena, on Wednesday.

Dillo, a vocal critic of President Mahamat Déby, had opposed him since Déby took office in 2021, succeeding his father, who was killed by rebels after ruling for thirty years.

The violence comes ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May 6, aimed at restoring constitutional rule.

Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told AFP that Dillo refused to surrender and fired on law enforcement before his death at his party's headquarters.

On Wednesday, Mr Dillo said the accusation he was behind the attack on the National Security Agency (ANSE) headquarters was intended "to make me afraid so that I don't go to the election".

One of Mr Dillo's colleagues, the general secretary of his Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), told Reuters news agency that PSF members had come under attack from soldiers outside the ANSE building while trying to retrieve the body of their colleague Ahmed Torabi.

The PSF official said Mr Torabi was arrested and shot dead on Tuesday, before his body was dumped outside the ANSE building.

According to the government, Mr Torabi had attempted to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court.