Chad’s National Assembly, meeting in a plenary session, adopted by a majority (115 votes) a resolution extending by four months a state of emergency introduced in three provinces on August 19.
By Adam Hassane Deyé
The provinces of Oauddaï, Sila and Tibesti have been under a state of emergency following inter-ethnic clashes and insecurity linked to gold panning.
The extension of the emergency rule was endorsed on Tuesday defended before MPs by the ministers of Territorial Administration, Defence, Justice and the Secretary General of the Government.
According to the executive, the extension of the state of emergency is justified because the disarmament process has not been completed in the three provinces.
Therefore, the additional four months (September 10 to January 10, 2020) will allow for security and peace between communities.
After giving endorsing the government’s request for the extension of the emergency measure, Chadian legislators called for respect for human rights, before urging the state to conduct an assessment after the measure is lifted.
The provinces of Ouaddaï and Sila, located in eastern Chad on the border with Sudan, are plagued by inter-ethnic conflicts that have caused hundreds of deaths between farmers and herders.
Tibesti, the third province in a state of emergency, borders Libya.
It attracts thousands of gold panners who work under a climate of insecurity due to the presence of armed groups.
AHD/id/te/lb/as/APA