N’DJAMENA, Chad
People have been killed and injured after a huge fire broke out at an ammunition depot in Chad, causing major explosions, senior government ministers have said.
Foreign Minister Koulamallah
Abderaman said the blaze happened at a military depot in the Goudji area of the
capital, N'Djamena.
President Mahamat Idriss Déby
sent his condolences to the victims and their families, without specifying the
number of casualties.
Video footage, which has not
been verified by our reporter, shows blasts lighting up the night sky.
Witnesses said they could be
heard miles away.
Journalists working for the
AFP news agency said the blaze caused weapons to fire into the air.
There were "explosions of
ammunition of all calibres", a French official, who requested anonymity,
also told the agency.
A resident told the Reuters
news agency that he saw three wounded people on the street, while another said
his neighbour was killed.
"Loud blasts woke us
up," Moustapha Adoum Mahamat said.
"Our house was shaking as
if someone were shooting at us. Then we saw a big fire at the military camp and
smoke and things exploding in the air," he said.
"We could see artillery
fly over us."
Mr Abderaman, the foreign
minister and government spokesman, urged the public to remain calm after the
explosions.
President Déby wrote on
Facebook: "Peace to the souls of the victims, sincere condolences to the
grieving families and a speedy recovery to the wounded."
The cause of the fire is not
yet known, and the president has promised an investigation.
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