Chad’s Council of Ministers yesterday declared a state of emergency in three provinces amid fighting between rival ethnic groups, a government spokesman said in a statement.
The state of emergency is in place in the western Tibesti region bordering Niger and the eastern Sila and Ouaddai regions bordering Sudan. It will run from Tuesday until Sept. 10, the statement said.
Clashes between semi-nomadic cattle herders of President Idriss Deby’s Zaghawa ethnic group and settled farmers mostly from the Ouaddian community have left at least 50 people dead in the past two weeks. “This state of emergency will help maintain and restore public order and security, as well as permanent and effective control of our borders,” the statement said.