Chad’s President Idriss Deby on Friday said at least 37 people were killed this week in intercommunal violence in the country’s east. The violence between farmers and herders from rival ethnic groups broke out over three days in the province of Ouaddai, which is the main area for herder migration near the border with Sudan.
“The intercommunal conflict has become a national concern,” said Deby at a press conference marking the 59th anniversary of Chad’s independence, reported Yahoo News.
“We are witnessing a terrible phenomenon,” he added.
Eastern Chad is facing a cycle of violence between nomadic camel herders, mainly from the Zaghawa ethnic group from which President Deby hails, and sedentary farmers from the Ouaddian community. The inter-communal clashes have been aggravated by drought and population growth.
On Monday, fighting erupted in the Wadi Hamra district after a rancher was found dead, said a local charity representative. The violence continued on Tuesday in the Chakoya locality as three more killings followed that discovery, the representative said.
Ethnic clashes erupted at another nearby location the following day, a local tribal official told the AFP.
“The communities clashed with firearms,” the official said adding, “The fighting was particularly deadly.”
He said that at least 25 people were killed. Although the official death toll is 37, a hospital source reportedly said that 44 people died.
Deby said that police sent to the scene but were also shot at by the miscreants.
“Those with guns are not hesitating to shoot the police,” he said. “We must wage a total war against those who carry weapons and are killing people.”
The President said he would make a visit to the area, but did not offer any information as to when this would happen. He said last month that military courts might be introduced in order to deal with the unrest in the area, an idea that was opposed by the opposition parties.
