By Aurore Bonny
DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) – Several people were killed on Thursday as security forces in Chad cracked down on protesters demanding a quicker transition to democratic rule.
News website Alwihda Info reported at least 30 fatalities in the capital N’Djamena, where hundreds of people defied a ban on protests to take to the streets.
Authorities, however, are yet to confirm the number of casualties.
The protests were called against the transitional military council’s decision to push back elections to October 2024.
The council is led by Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the son of former President Idriss Deby, who died in a clash with rebels last year after three decades in power.
Deby, who was named transitional president this month, has backtracked on his pledge to hand over power to an elected government after 18 months.
Thursday would have marked the end of that initially agreed period.
Demonstrators attacked and set on fire the headquarters of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR), the party of recently appointed Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo.
Local media reports said security forces opened fire at protesters in various areas of N’Djamena.
Among the victims were Oredje Narcisse, a journalist working with local online outlet TchadInfos, and Ray’s Kim, a popular musician and activist, according to reports.
Succes Masara, head of the opposition Transformers party, accused Deby of “having Chadians shot and killed.”
His party said at least eight people had been killed and multiple wounded.
In a tweet, Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, condemned the “repression of demonstrations that led to deaths in Chad.”
France, the former colonial power in Chad, denied any involvement in the unrest, amid accusations from protesters that it is supporting the transitional government.
“France plays no role in these events, which relate strictly to Chadian domestic politics. The false information about France’s alleged involvement has no basis,” read a French Foreign Ministry statement.