Chad is demanding an explanation from the Central African Republic over a military operation it says crossed their border and seriously injured soldiers and civilians, while Bangui describes action against armed groups inside its own territory.
The competing accounts concern operations on 10 October 2026 near the frontier with Sudan. They leave unresolved where the fighting took place and whether Central African or Russian forces entered Chad.
Central African authorities said their troops and Russian allies conducted air strikes and ground operations in Vakaga prefecture to prevent an imminent attack, according to local outlet Pulse Media RCA, which published details of a defence ministry statement.
The ministry attributed the threat to foreign armed groups. Its account placed the operation in Vakaga and did not acknowledge crossing into Chad.
Chadian authorities, by contrast, said Central African soldiers entered Abnabak, in the Tissi area, according to African Press Agency reporting. They reported several serious injuries among military personnel and civilians without giving a numerical toll.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Kogri summoned the Central African ambassador in N’Djamena on 11 October to deliver a formal protest, the agency reported.
A separate account introduced a more direct allegation against Russian forces. AFP, in a report republished by EcoMatin, quoted an unnamed Chadian military source as saying Russians had crossed into Chad and shelled a position held by Central African rebels, injuring several people.
That allegation came from the military source; Chad’s official protest, as reported by African Press Agency, identified the Central African army as responsible for the incursion. Bangui’s acknowledgement of Russian support for its operation does not independently confirm the source’s account of a Russian border crossing.
Rebel movements remain active in the Central African Republic’s northern border regions adjoining Chad and Sudan, AFP reported.
Kogri said Chad had recorded repeated incursions in the area since 2021, according to African Press Agency. He instructed the ambassador to convey a warning to Bangui and demanded precise explanations of the circumstances surrounding the operation.
