At least five people have been killed in Chad’s capital N’Djamena after security forces violently dispersed banned protests calling for a quicker transition to democratic rule.
Photographs showed five bodies on the floor of the city’s Union Chagoua hospital, two of which were covered with the Chadian national flag and three with bloodied white sheets. The head doctor, Joseph Ampil, said that five individuals had “died from gunshots” during the clashes.
Palls of black smoke could be seen in some areas and the crack of teargas grenades could be heard.
The UNDR party headquarters of the prime minister, Saleh Kebzabo, was also attacked by demonstrators and set on fire, the UNDR vice-president, Celestin Topona, told reporters.
Kebzabo, the UNDR president, was named prime minister last week after his predecessor resigned to pave the way for a new administration.
The vast, military-led central African nation has been on edge since the sudden death of the president, Idriss Déby, while visiting troops fighting rebels in April 2021. There has been resistance to a transitional military council headed by Déby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, who took power after the president’s death and pushed back elections to October 2024.