YAOUNDE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed in a shootout between government forces and members of opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), the country's minister of communication and government spokesman, Abderaman Koulamallah, has said.
Four soldiers and three PSF members, including PSF leader Yaya Dillo, were killed during the clashes in N'Djamena, the Chadian capital, on Wednesday, Koulamallah told reporters, presenting weapons seized in the clashes.
The exchange of fire erupted after PSF members refused to surrender to security forces, he said Thursday evening.
More than 20 people, including Saleh Deby Itno, a former general and the uncle of Chad's transitional president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, were arrested, Koulamallah said.
"Order has been restored and Chadians can go about their daily activities," Koulamallah said. "From this day, all Chadians, irrespective of their origin or community, have to know that no one is above the law."
"We will do everything possible to restore the state of law in all its dimension," he said.
Dillo's death came after the government accused him of a deadly attack on the country's intelligence agency. Dillo is the cousin of Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who took over from his father, Idriss Deby Itno, following his death in an attack in April 2021.
The unrest in the central African country followed the announcement that presidential election, which is expected to return the country to constitutional rule, will be held on May 6.
In January, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, Chad's ruling party, appointed Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno as its presidential candidate and honorary president. ■