From Kay Carver, who formerly served with Encompass World Partners in Chad, has reported that Encompass staff in Chad is safe following several suicide bombings in the country yesterday. Below is what she posted on the Not Alone Crisis Responders page on Facebook and shared here with her permission.
Ndjamena Chad , June 15; 9:30am ~ A bomb was detonated at the entrance of the central police station by 2 suicide bombers on a motorcycle and simultaneously another bomb was detonated at the police academy on the other side of town.
Encompass staff member, Craig Palmer, who lives in Ndjamena said they heard the bomb at the police station as they live 1 kilometer away, but they thought it was a dump truck. Later they went shopping in town and that is when they learned of the attacks.
The police station is where Chadians go to get their identity cards and visitors must go and register their passports and apply for visas, so there would be many people there.
Earliest reports estimate that 23 Chadians and the 4 bombers died and there are over 100 injured. No one has claimed responsibility but it is believed to be retribution from Boko Haram as the Chadian Army, known to be the fiercest in Central and Western Africa, joined forces with Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria to stop Boko Haram.
Boko Haram has maintained a strong presence in Northern Nigeria for more than 6 years and the Chadian Army began to engage them in February 2016 with the Niger Army on the Niger/Nigerian border. Boko Haram has also wreaked havoc in Northern Cameroon. Chad is a landlocked country and gets all of its exports from ports in Cameroon and Nigeria so Boko Haram has hurt the economy of Chad.
The link below has a detailed report on Chad and Boko Haram.
euronews.com/…/fighting-boko-haram-chad-aims-to…/
Pray for the authorities to respond well to this emergency and take appropriate security measures.