N’DJAMENA, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 37 people have been killed in fresh fighting this week between farmers and herders from rival ethnic groups in Chad, President Idriss Deby said.
The violence broke out over three days in the province of Ouaddai, a
strategic area on the eastern border with Sudan, he said.
“The intercommunal conflict has become a national concern,” Deby told a
press conference to mark the country’s independence day. “We are witnessing a terrible phenomenon.”
Eastern Chad is in the grip of a cycle of violence between nomadic camel
herders — many from the Zaghawa ethnic group from which Deby hails — and sedentary farmers from the Ouaddian community.
Drought and population growth have aggravated the conflict.
The latest fighting erupted on Monday in the Wadi Hamra district after a
rancher was found dead. Three more killings followed that discovery.
Fresh violence flared up at another nearby location the following day. At least 25 people were killed.
Describing the clashes, Deby said that police sent to the scene came under
fire.
“Those with guns are not hesitating to shoot the police. We must wage a
total war against those who carry weapons and are killing people,” he said.
Deby said the decades-long conflict over land in Ouaddai had spread since
the start of this year to other regions where previously the communities
lived side by side in an “exemplary” manner.
He cited the eastern province of Sila where he said more than 40 people had been killed since January.
Deby blamed the surge in violence partly on an influx of guns to Chad from
conflict zones in neighbouring Libya, Central African Republic and Sudan.
“The government has created special disarmament units. We take away the
weapons, but the next day more arrive.” — NNN-AGENCIES