Government spokesperson Aziz Mahamat Saleh said an armed group based in neighbouring Central African Republic had attacked the civilians on Tuesday in Chad’s Logone Oriental province before the army intervened.

Four people were killed in the fighting before the army pushed out the assailants, killing 13 of their fighters, Saleh told Reuters.

Logone Oriental Governor Ahmat Dari Bazine confirmed that about 20 people had died in an attack but did not give an exact toll.

He attributed the attack to the Kodos, a Chadian armed group based over the border in the Central African Republic.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and it was not possible to contact a representative of Kodos.

Saleh and Bazine said security had been reinforced at Chad’s porous 1,000km border with Central African Republic following the violence.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Jonathan Oatis.)