Chad says 17 killed in Sudanese drone attack
March 19, 2026
Government officials in Chad announced Thursday that 17 people were killed and several more injured in the eastern town of Tine late Wednesday in a drone attack originating from Sudan.
Tine is situated on Chad's border with Sudan's western Darfur region.
A military spokesman said that all of those killed were civilians.
Local eyewitnesses reported two explosions that struck mourners at a funeral as well as children playing nearby.
Chad vows retaliation against future attacks from Sudan
After summoning defense and security officials in the night, President Mahamat Idriss Deby released a statement on social media announcing that he had ordered Chad's army to, "retaliate, starting from tonight, to any attack coming from Sudan."
"Despite various firm warnings addressed to the different belligerents in the Sudan conflict and the closure of the border," a Chad government spokesman said on Thursday: "the town of Tine has again been the target of a drone attack. This latest assault of extreme gravity has caused the death of 17 of our compatriots and left several others injured."
Chad's government says it has strengthened its security presence at the border and that its forces have the ability to carry out operations on Sudanese territory if necessary.
The incident is just the latest spillover from the deadly civil war raging in neighboring Sudan, where Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries have been battling the Sudanese military since 2023.
The RSF has controlled nearly all of Darfur since October, when it took control of the city of el-Fasher, in an operation that the UN described as bearing the "hallmarks of genocide."
Local authorities say it is unclear who was behind Wednesday's drone attack.
The RSF denied any responsibility, blaming it on the Sudanese army in a statement posted to Telegram.
Chad border grows deadlier as Darfur conflict rages
RSF military operations along the 1,400-kilometer-long (870-mile) border have caused numerous casualties in Chad in recent months.
Before Wednesday's attack, Chadian authorities had kept a running death toll of 15 soldiers and eight civilians in Tine since December.
On February 21, the RSF claimed control of Tina — Tine's sister city in Darfur. The two are separated by a narrow, usually dry, riverbed.
On February 23, Chad closed its border to prevent "any risk of the conflict spreading."
The civil war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of civilians and forced over 12 million people to flee.
The UN says more than one million have sought refuge in Chad.
Edited by: Alex Berry