N’DJAMENA, Chad
Chad’s interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby (pictured down) on Monday said those who organized protests against his two-year extension of power have shown “the will to start a civil war,” marking his first speech since a violent crackdown on demonstrators left dozens of people dead across the country.
The speech broadcast live on
national television and radio comes four days after witnesses said that
security forces had fired live ammunition at protesters in the capital,
N’Djamena, and in the country’s second-largest city, Moundou.
The opposition has said more
than 70 demonstrators were killed, while a combined toll of 62 was given by the
government spokesman and a morgue official. The unprecedented violence toward
the demonstrators drew swift condemnation from abroad.
Deby, who has been in power
since the April 2021 death of his father, defended the crackdown Monday night
and blamed the deaths on those who had organized the antigovernment protests.
“These are not simple demonstrations that have been brought under control, but a real insurrection meticulously planned to create chaos in the country,” Deby said in his speech.
Human rights groups have said
that the demonstrators were unarmed and that the use of force was
disproportionate. However, Deby told Chadians that those who organized the
protests “bear a heavy responsibility for the killings of October 20.”
“They recruited and used
terrorist and paramilitary groups to carry out gratuitous mass murders,” he
said.
“I will use all legal means at
my disposal to prevent these plans that are harmful to our country,” he added.
Deby’s father, the late
President Idriss Deby Itno, led Chad for more than three decades. He died after
being attacked by rebels while visiting his troops on the frontlines in the
north, officials said.
Last Thursday marked what was
to be the end of Chad’s 18-month transition, but the government recently announced
that Deby would stay in power for another two more years instead. Protests were
held in five cities around the country Thursday.
“The fight we are waging is
for justice and equality for the 17 million Chadians by breaking with this
armed dynasty serving 3% of the people,” prominent opposition leader Succes
Masra after the deadly protests, accusing the government of trying “to create
civil war.”
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