A spectacular assault, led at dawn by nine thugs armed with rifles and machetes, plunged the Darou Tanzil neighborhood of Touba into terror. The attack, aimed at the home of a well-known merchant, turned into a violent confrontation with the occupants. Result: several injured, a traumatized neighborhood, and a gang now on the run, actively sought by the local police. According to L’Observateur, the incident caused a shockwave throughout the religious city.
A commando made up of nine armed criminals with rifles stormed a house in the Darou Tanzil neighborhood at dawn. The occupants, abruptly woken from their sleep, tried to resist. This confrontation triggered a scene of rare violence, leaving several injured in its wake. According to L’Observateur, the local police have opened an investigation to apprehend the fleeing assailants.
A nightmarish awakening, that’s what the residents of Darou Tanzil experienced on Monday. In the still heavy silence of dawn, an unexpected descent of armed men shattered the tranquility of the neighborhood. The episode, chilling in its brutality, illustrates the resurgence of urban delinquency which, despite repeated assurances from law enforcement, instills a persistent psychosis in the religious city, notes L’Observateur.
The film of the attack, at 4 a.m.
On September 1st, the merchant Abdou Boye, a well-known figure in Touba, appeared at the police station with a closed, anxious face. His only wish: to see justice conduct investigations to put an end to the armed gang’s reign of terror in his home. His relatives, rudely awakened, were assaulted, some urgently taken to the hospital. He explains that the attack took place around 4 a.m. The assailants, nine in total, arrived in a vehicle whose make he did not know. Armed with rifles, machetes, and knives, they ruthlessly invaded the family compound. Their violent intrusion disrupted the peaceful sleep of the Boye family. While some of the group tried to take possession of the purebred sheep enclosure, others methodically searched the house for valuable items, reports L’Observateur.
A criminal hit by a machete blow
But an unexpected event thwarted their plans: the occupants’ resistance. The homeowner and his nephew Abdou Khadre Bèye tried to repel the intruders. Armed with a machete, the young man found himself face to face with one of the attackers. The confrontation was immediate and brutal. Quicker than his opponent, Abdou Khadre managed to deliver a violent blow to his head. The criminal fell heavily, inert, bathed in his blood. Alerted, two accomplices then rushed in. Seeing their comrade in critical condition, they engaged in a confrontation with the young Bèye, whom they attacked to make him let go. Without delay, they retrieved their bloodied accomplice and hastily drove him away in their vehicle, leaving behind a scene of panic and devastation, writes L’Observateur.
The merchant’s nephew seriously injured
The commando’s operation was already compromised, as they had lost enough time. Fearing being unmasked by neighbors or seeing a police patrol arrive, the assailants decided to retreat. But before leaving, five of them viciously attacked young Abdou Khadre Bèye. Violently targeted, struck on the head and hands, he collapsed, seriously injured. Left in critical condition, he was urgently transported to the hospital, where he was admitted for observation. Latest reports indicate that his life is no longer in danger. But the traumatized Boye family struggles to regain their calm after this night of horror.
As for the gang, they fled in a hurry, spreading fear in the neighborhood. The Touba police, who have opened an investigation, have launched a pursuit of the armed commando, determined to put an end to their flight and reassure a population plunged into terror.
