A conflict over a water source in eastern Chad has gotten completely out of hand. At least 42 people were killed in clashes between two ethnic groups near the town of Guereda in Wadi Fira province on Saturday, according to a government source.
Source: AD.nl
According to provincial official Brahim Issa Galmaye, the situation escalated due to an argument between two families over the use of a well. Several ministers, politicians and the army chief of staff were sent to the area on Sunday. According to Deputy Prime Minister Limane Mahamat, the situation is now under control.
In recent years, farmers and nomadic herders have increasingly clashed over land use in the area. According to the NGO International Crisis Group, more than a thousand people have been killed and at least two thousand injured between 2021 and 2024.
The situation is said to have been further deteriorated by the presence of refugees from neighboring Sudan, which has been ravaged by a civil war. Chad does not have the resources to accommodate the estimated one million refugees.
