Chad declares emergency

The government of Chad has declared a 12-day state of emergency in three northern and eastern regions following worsening ethnic clashes.

At least 20 people died last week in clashes in Dar Tama, clashes provoked by the government of President Idriss Deby Itno, claims his defence minister Mahamat Nour Abdelkarim. Abdelkarim only joined the government after he agreed to end fighting at the head of his rebel movement, the United Front for Change. A peace deal was signed last December.

The eastern frontier with troubled Darfur causes the most worry, and the EU’s foreign ministers agreed yesterday to send a 3,000-strong force to patrol the border. Based in Sudan, it will try to improve conditions so that the thousands of Darfur refugees in Chad can think about returning.

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