Chad Closes Sudan Border After Drone Strike Kills 17

A drone strike originating from Sudan killed at least 17 civilians in the eastern Chadian border town of Tine on Wednesday afternoon, prompting Chad's government to close its border with Sudan and place its military on high alert. The attack targeted a gathering of mourners at a funeral ceremony, where residents were reading from the Quran, according to local accounts. Explosions also injured children playing nearby, and all victims were confirmed as non-combatants by Chadian military sources.

Médecins Sans Frontières, known as Doctors Without Borders, reported that 123 people were wounded in the strike, with 66 arriving at a local hospital in serious condition. Medical teams treated patients amid shortages of water, electricity, and medicine, relying on generators and solar panels to manage the influx. Chadian health services assisted in the response at the facility in Tine, which has served as a key point for cross-border humanitarian aid when other routes, like the Adre crossing, are inaccessible.

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby convened an emergency meeting of the defense and security council late Wednesday in N'Djamena, attended by top military commanders, the prime...