Not less than five people have been reportedly killed in a banned protest against Chad’s new military junta that took power after the death of long-serving leader Idriss Deby Itno.
Chad police clashed with the opposition demonstrators in N’Djamena on April 27, 2021. The Police have deployed in N’Djamena to break up the demonstrations, which had been called by the opposition and civil society groups.
They used tear gas in the capital to disperse small groups of demonstrators, some of whom burned tyres in the streets.
Deby’s 37-year-old son Mahamat, who heads the so-called Transitional Military Council (TMC), pledged an “inclusive national dialogue” after violent protests in the capital N’Djamena and the south of Chad, a country seen as crucial in the fight against terrorists in the Sahel region.
The government said at least five people had died in the protests but a local NGO reported nine fatalities — seven in the capital and two in the south.
The Chadian Convention for the Defence of Human Rights (CTDDH) said that in addition to nine deaths, 36 people were wounded and about 12 arrested.
“We denounce and condemn this massacre… (and) the disproportionate use of weapons of war against protesters,” it said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned “with the greatest firmness the repression of demonstrations and the violence that took place in N’Djamena”.
The new junta leader has promised to hold “free and democratic” elections in 18 months, while also pledging on Tuesday to “fight terrorism and respect all its international obligations”.
