A fire erupted at a military ammunition depot in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, leading to a sequence of explosions on Tuesday night, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Koulamallah Abderaman.
Witnesses reported at least one fatality and several injuries.
A local resident near the depot mentioned witnessing three injured individuals on the street, with two of them swiftly transported to the hospital on motorcycles.
Media outlets shared visuals showing expended artillery shells that landed in residential areas.
Another resident recounted the tragic death of a shopkeeper neighbor, struck by a shell during the incident.
“Loud blasts woke us up,” resident Moustapha Adoum Mahamat told Reuters via telephone.
“Our house was shaking as if someone were shooting at us. Then we saw a big fire at the military camp and smoke and things exploding in the air,” he said. “We could see artillery fly over us.”
According to a Reuters witness, flames and explosions persisted for approximately an hour, with smoke spreading throughout the city.
The fire originated a short distance from Chad’s primary international airport, which authorities confirmed remained unaffected by the incident.