An attack on Chad’s presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded, state media reported Thursday.

The attack comes at a delicate time for Chad, which recently scrapped a defence cooperation pact with longtime partner France.

Chad said it averted a “destabilization attempt” after security forces repelled two dozen assailants that briefly entered the presidency where the West African nation’s military leader had received China’s foreign minister.

A foiled attack on Chad's presidential compound overnight was carried out by a group of two dozen armed "ill-intentioned individuals" who were neutralised by security forces, the public prosecutor said on Thursday,

Chad: Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah on Thursday described a foiled attack on the presidential compound as an amateur operation that posed no real threat to the government. The national prosecutor said 18 attackers and two security guards were killed in the attack.

Armed men tried to storm Chad's presidential palace when President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was inside but 18 attackers and two soldiers were killed in the failed attack, the national

Two dozen armed men tried to storm into Chad's presidential palace but 18 of the attackers and two soldiers were killed in the failed attack, the national prosecutor said Thursday.Heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential complex just before 8:00 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Wednesday in the centre of N'Djamena,

Chadian troops were heavily deployed around the capital, N’Djamena, Thursday as officials said they were investigating a failed attack on the country’s presidential palace. Government troops foiled an attack by 24 heavily armed assailants on Wednesday night,