N'Djamena

Chaos grips Chad's capital, N'Djamena, as reports surface of an attempted coup d'état, with conflicting accounts of clashes between government forces and dissidents. According to sources cited by "Tchad One," armed soldiers allegedly moved towards the presidential palace in a bid to seize control, triggering violent confrontations.

"In response to the groundless expulsion of our ambassador to Chad, today we called on Chad's ambassador to Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, to leave Germany within 48 hours. We regret that this has come to this," the statement said, according to Reuters.

Chad's president, Idriss Deby, who ruled his country for more than 30 years and was an important Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa, was killed on April 19 in a battle against rebels in the north, authorities said.

Chad reintroduced the death penalty just six months after its abolition on July 30, as legislators passed a stringent anti-terror bill in the face of a spate of deadly Boko Haram attacks.

After suffering two suicide bombings in a month, including one in a bustling market in the capital N'Djamena, Chad has beefed up security in recent weeks.    

Istanbul was the 99th most expensive city for expatriates in 2015 out of 207 cities on five continents, according to an annual survey by consultancy firm Mercer. 

The city climbed 36 places from last year due to a rise in inflation rates across the country and the loss of the Turkish Lira against the U.S. dollar, according to the Mercer survey.  

Twenty-three people were killed and over 100 injured in twin suicide bombings targeting police in the Chadian capital June 15, with the government blaming Boko Haram militants for the bloodshed.

Boko Haram on Feb. 11 launched a pre-dawn raid in Gamboru, northeastern Nigeria, looking to overwhelm Chadian troops who had pushed them out of the border town.
      
The military in N'Djamena said the militants were repelled but the counter-attack was an indication of the task facing regional forces aiming to crush the rebellion.
      

Nigeria's top security official on Friday ruled out the need for a United Nations or African Union-backed force to fight Boko Haram, saying the country and its partners could handle the threat.