Chad’s Deby orders military to retaliate against attacks from Sudanese belligerents
March 18, 2026 (N’djamena) – Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby ordered his military on Wednesday to retaliate against any Sudanese forces attacking Chadian territory after a drone strike killed at least 16 civilians in a border town.
The strike targeted a gathering in the town of Mabrouka, in the Wadi Fira region near the frontier. Local sources said the drone, which originated from Sudan, struck while residents were gathered for a Ramadan Iftar meal.
Deby, appearing in military fatigues, convened an emergency meeting of the Defence and Security Council at the Palais Toumaï following the attack. The presidency characterized the strike as an “outrageous and excessive aggression” against the country’s territorial integrity.
The Chadian leader ordered the immediate and total closure of the 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Sudan. He also placed the national army on maximum alert, directing troops to respond to any further attacks from across the frontier.
The presidency confirmed the standing order to retaliate applies to any Sudanese belligerents, specifically citing both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
During the council meeting, Deby expressed frustration over failed mediation efforts, noting that, while Chad has attempted to facilitate peace, both warring factions have ignored diplomacy and shifted the humanitarian burden of the conflict onto Chad.
The presidency also accused Sudanese forces of attempting to destabilize Chad by exporting intercommunal conflicts. This incident follows a series of border incursions, including a January attack in which RSF fighters killed eight Chadian soldiers.
The drone strike in Mabrouka coincided with fierce military clashes this week in the strategic Tine area. The Sudanese army and its allies have been fighting to repel continuous RSF ground assaults aimed at seizing the region, which serves as a vital humanitarian corridor.
Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan have frequently accused N’Djamena of fueling the civil war by allowing the RSF to use Chadian territory for logistics. Khartoum alleges that weapons from the United Arab Emirates are delivered through Chadian airports, a claim Chad has consistently denied.
Deby has dispatched a government delegation, including the ministers of defence and security, to the affected border region to assess the human and material losses from the strike.