President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, has ordered the immediate closure of the country’s border with Sudan and placed the military on maximum alert following a deadly drone attack on Chadian territory.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama disclosed that the directive followed an emergency defence and security council meeting held late on March 18 at the presidential palace in Ndjamena.

According to sources, the decision came after what authorities described as a fresh incursion involving Sudanese drones into Chadian territory, heightening tensions along the shared border.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Allamaye Halina, senior government officials, top military commanders, and heads of security agencies.

During the session, President Deby Itno reviewed Chad’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict in Sudan, noting that multiple mediation attempts had failed to bring peace between the warring parties.

He also expressed concern over the humanitarian impact of the conflict on Chad, warning of spillover effects driven by shared ethnic and social ties across the border.

“We are witnessing the spillover of inter-communal tensions across our border due to shared ethnic and social ties, and this threatens the safety of our citizens,” he said.

In response to the attack, the president ordered the complete closure of the approximately 1,300-kilometre border between Chad and Sudan.

A government delegation is to be deployed to affected areas to assess human and material losses, while the armed forces have been directed to maintain maximum operational readiness and respond decisively to any further aggression.

The directive specifically targets hostile actions linked to forces loyal to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Officials confirmed that a drone from war-torn Sudan struck the border town of Tine in eastern Chad, killing at least 17 people.