Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Wednesday visited the site of a deadly ammunition depot explosion in the capital N’Djamena, saying the injured would receive state care as he called for future military storage sites to be located outside cities.
The blasts on Tuesday (June 18) night, triggered by a fire at the depot near N’Djamena’s airport, killed at least nine people and wounded over 46 others, health authorities said.
Walking through the debris-strewn area, Deby said the situation was under control but lessons must be learned.
“What happened yesterday should teach us a lesson about building armories in the middle of the city,” he told reporters. “This isn’t the first time that ammunition shops have exploded.”
The explosions sent spent artillery shells raining down on nearby neighborhoods, shattering windows and punching holes in walls and roofs. Soldiers sifted through piles of mangled munitions boxes and charred bullet shells at the blast site.
Deby said the state would take care of those wounded in the explosions, which lit up the night sky in the central African nation’s capital and sparked panic.