At Least Four Dead in Alleged Chad Coup Attempt

More killed in neighborhood clashes

N'DJAMENA - At least four people were killed in a gunfight in the Chadian capital in what authorities said was a plot against President Idriss Deby's government, security sources said on Thursday.

Chad has a long history of political instability and Deby himself led rebel troops into the capital N'Djamena in 1990 to seize power. But the landlocked nation started producing oil a decade ago and Deby, who has won four elections, has become an ally of the West against Islamist militants in the region.

"Between four and eight people were killed in fighting at a military barracks in the east of N'Djamena," said a police source, asking not to be identified. The clash took place late on Wednesday.