Chad protest witnesses recall 'terrible, terrible day' of death

Witnesses have come forward to tell AFP of the "absolutely terrible, terrible day" of violence that left 50 dead during widespread protests last week against the decision by Chad's military ruler to extend his junta's grip on power.

The unprecedented clashes between security forces and young demonstrators in the capital N'Djamena and elsewhere also left more than 300 injured.

There had been calls for several days for peaceful protests last Thursday -- to mark the date when the military had promised to hand over power in the unstable Sahel country.

Junta head Mahamat Idriss Deby, a 38-year-old five-star general, has been in power since his iron-fisted father -- was killed in an operation against rebels in April 2021.

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He has since angered many at home and embarrassed backers abroad by hanging on to power for a further two years.

The evening before Thursday's bloodshed, 75-year-old retired teacher Djim Toide said he "saw security forces vehicles parked on a roundabout near my house".

"I thought they were conducting routine checks. Then at about four in the morning I started to hear gunshots."

The building where he lives in the southern Moursal district of N'Djamena "filled with smoke".

'Live bullets'

"Things calmed down for a bit. And then the shooting started again," he told AFP.

"So I went out into the street to see what was happening. I saw youths running all over the place chased by the security forces."

He said the road was blocked with hastily erected barricades. Protesters were throwing stones and the police were firing tear gas.

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Remadji Allataroum, a student at N'Djamena university, said she was woken at 2:00 am by protesters blowing whistles.

"The protesters came out of nowhere. They filled the streets, chanting 'justice! equality!'," she said.

Allataroum, who lives in the capital's southern Abena district, said the atmosphere became palpably tense at around 6:00 am, when police intervened and "scuffles" broke out with protesters.

The security forces retreated briefly at around 7:00 am.

"The protesters seized the opportunity to put up roadblocks. They started burning tyres and kept chanting," she said.

Then the police returned.

"They started firing live bullets and two protesters were hit in the head. They fell down dead right in front of me.

"It was an absolutely terrible, terrible day.

"Things only started to calm down a bit at the end of the afternoon," she recalled.

Crying out for help

As on every workday morning, journalist Bertrand Teyane had been due on Thursday to go into the office.

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"But everywhere was shut off by the demonstrators' roadblocks," he told AFP.

He said he saw "clashes between police and young protesters".

Teyane, who has three children of his own, said he heard "two women crying out for help in the street" near his house.

"I decided to go outside to see what was happening and I'd only got a few metres (yards) when I saw two lifeless bodies stretched out on the ground.

"One was covered in the national blue, yellow and red flag. The other was just lying there covered in blood. He'd been hit in the stomach."

Teyane said that by mid-afternoon there was an air of desolation about the capital -- burnt-out wrecks of motorbikes and a car near the American embassy, police driving around in convoys "toting semi-automatic rifles".

"Around 5:00 pm, I heard gunshot and I thought to myself, 'It's starting up again'," he said.

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"I didn't dare go home until the firing stopped."

Source: AFP