Armed attackers attacked nomadic herders in southern Chad on Tuesday, and after they were pushed back by Chadian authorities, at least 17 individuals died, according to the government’s statement on Wednesday.
An armed group based in the neighbouring Central African Republic attacked people on Tuesday in the Logone Oriental province of Chad, according to government spokesman Aziz Mahamat Saleh, before the army stepped in.
According to Saleh, four individuals were killed in the firefight before the army drove the attackers back, killing 13 of their combatants.
The governor of Logone Oriental, Ahmat Dari Bazine, stated that an attack had killed about 20 people but did not provide a precise number.
He blamed the attack on the Kodos, an armed Chadian organisation with headquarters in the Central African Republic across the border.
A Kodos representative could not be reached, and there was no quick admission of guilt.
Following the bloodshed, security at the 1,000 km of porous border between Chad and the Central African Republic, according to Saleh and Bazine, has been bolstered.
