Amid tensions ahead of the presidential election, the Chadian opposition politician Yaya Dillo has been killed during an exchange of fire with security forces, the state prosecutor, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, said.
Several people had been killed in earlier clashes near Chad's internal security agency building. According to officials, heavy gunfire was heard on Wednesday in N'Djamena, near the headquarters of Dillo’s opposition party.
Dillo, was the current president's cousin and a strong contender in the upcoming election. Dillo headed the Socialist Part Without Borders, which was behind the attack at the National State Security Agency on Wednesday.
However the capital was, reportedly, calm on Thursday morning and people were returning to work as internet access was resumed after the unrest.
The security agency was attacked by representatives of the party, resulting in several deaths, said a government statement.
The opposition party's general secretary said the deaths near the security agency occurred when soldiers opened fire on a group of party members, reported Reuters.
The supreme court in December approved the vote on a new constitution that critics say could help cement the power of the junta leader, Mahamat Idriss Déby.
