Demonstrations in Chad against the continuing leadership of Mahamat Idriss Deby have been violently repressed with deaths reported.
The African Union has reacted to the ongoing incidents.
The chairman of the AU Commission, the Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat “strongly condemned the repression of the demonstrations that led to several deaths”
Opposition parties and civil society organisations have called on citizens to take to the streets in protest over the extension of the transition decided on Saturday 8 October by the National Sovereign and Inclusive Dialogue, allowing General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who came to power in April 2021 after the death of his father Marshal Idriss Deby in an army counter-offensive against the rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), to remain in power for another 24 months.
The conclusions of these national consultations also offer Deby the possibility of running in the next presidential election.
The demonstrations that broke out in several neighbourhoods of N’Djamené on Thursday 20 October have reportedly spread to other parts of the country.
According to unofficial sources, several dozen people have been killed, including security forces and a journalist working for a local radio station.
France has “condemned the use of lethal weapons against the demonstrators.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat “called on the parties to respect human life and property and to favour peaceful means to deal with the crisis.”
AC/lb/as/APA