TheCable

Two suicide bombers have attacked police and intelligence offices in N’Djamena, capital of Chad, killing 20 people.

Abderahim Bireme Hamid, the country’s interior minister, told Reuters that the attack, which is the first of its kind in the city, has led to a lock down of the area.

Hamid could not give casualty details but a witness at the police station told Reuters that he had seen three bodies.

“I can confirm that it was a suicide attack,” he told the news agency.

Chad is one of the countries playing a central role in the fight against insurgency in Nigeria. The country has lost dozens of soldiers fighting in northern Mali and in Nigeria and it has sent troops to a regional force which is to have its headquarters in N’Djamena.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Boko Haram sect is being suspected.

President Idris Deby is currently attending the African Union Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where continental leaders have focused on tackling widespread insecurity.