Chad's government said there was an ongoing fire and explosions at an ammunition depot in the capital, N'Djamena. The cause was not immediately clear. Initial footage appeared to show large blasts.

A fire broke out overnight at a military ammunition depot in Chad's capital causing a series of explosions, government spokesman and Foreign Affairs Minister Koulamallah Abderaman said.

"Fire in a military ammunition store in Goudji," he wrote, referring to a district in the capital, N'Djamena. "A fire broke out in a military ammunition store located in Goudji, causing major explosions. The population is invited to remain calm."

Chadian media like Tchad One shared video footage of the area taken from that DW could not immediately verify appearing to show a large fire and several flashes from apparent follow-on blasts. Tchad One captioned it simply, "Uncontrollable situation."

The depot is in the north of the city near the international airport. N'Djamena is home to around 1.6 million people or roughly 10% of Chad's population.

Chad was in the news last month as its population voted after three years of military rule without elections, picking Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno -- the son of the country's sixth president, Idriss Deby Itno -- as its seventh.

msh/sms (AFP, Reuters)