Conflicts & War

At least 19 dead in clashes between herders and farmers in Chad

N’Djamena, Aug 2 (EFE).- At least 19 people were killed in inter-communal clashes between nomadic herders and sedentary peasants in south Chad on Wednesday, an official said.

Goumba Nabia, who heads the town authority in Boum, where the incident occurred, told EFE that shepherds came armed with arrows and spears.

“They came to attack us after the death of one of their children and the people were forced to defend themselves,” Nabia said.

The clashes began at 4:00 a.m. local time (3:00 GMT) in the Boum town of the southern Lake Iro region.

Another official said the police and the gendarmerie went to the scene to appeal for calm. Some suspects have been arrested.

Clashes between nomadic Muslim herders and sedentary farmers, mostly Christians, are frequent in southern Chad and other fertile areas of the country.

Farmers accuse herders of plundering their fields, grazing their animals, and settling on land they claim to be theirs.

According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),

intercommunity clashes in the country in 2022 left more than 500 dead, 600 injured, and more than 7,000 displaced. EFE

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