Security has been stepped up for some time now in the capital, Ndjamena.

The authorities in Chad have denied a report earlier this week by the French language magazine, Jeune Afrique that 500 suspected militants of the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had succeeded in infiltrating the capital, Ndjamena.

A security source said only a handful of suspects had been arrested and handed over to security agencies that have been monitoring them for some time, Radio France Internationale, RFI reported yesterday, February 14, 2013. RFI quoted Jeune Afrique as saying that following the reported infiltration, security was stepped up in Ndjamena. However, the authorities gave assurances that the situation was not so alarming, though security at Ndjamena Airport has been tightened in the past few months, RFI said.

Local press reports say the authorities have enforced strict security measures in the capital such as cordoning off the airport, erecting check points within a two-kilometre radius of the airport, instituting daily police patrols and other check points in Ndjamena. Analysts say since the announcement last month by Chad of its decision to send 2,000 troops to Mali in support of the French-led intervention against Islamic militants in the north, the country has become a possible target for extremists.

Several Chadian security reports have made mention of an increase in pro-Islamist sermons in some Ndjamena mosques. One of such reports seen by RFI, quotes a preacher as questioning why Chadian authorities are against the imposition of Islamic Sharia law in Mali, while at the same time claiming to be Moslems. The preacher was said to have been picked up immediately by security operatives. Sources say other suspects – Malian, Niger and Chadian nationals – were also picked up. The authorities have given assurances that all is being done to ensure that the terrorists do not have the opportunity to strike.

President Idriss Déby Itno late last month called on the public to be more vigilant in the face of the rising level of religious fanaticism in the Sahel region. He appealed to residents of Hadjer Lamis, Kanem, Barh El Ghazal and the Lake Regions in the north-eastern part of the country that share borders with Niger and Nigeria, to reject religious intolerance. He warned the people against the risk of allowing those he described as fanatics, drug traffickers and terrorists into their midst. Else, they would be promoting self destruction, collective suicide and the loss of their secular and republican values. He vowed that Chad will strongly oppose any attempt at destabilising the sub-region.