11 Killed, 10 Wounded As Farmers And Herder Clashes In Salamat Province

No fewer than eleven casualties were reportedly recorded in a clash between farmers and nomadic herders in the southeast of Chad during the last weekend.

According to the report reaching Naija News at this time, about 10 people sustained severe injuries while 11 were murdered in the fight that took place on Friday and Saturday in Salamat province.

It was gathered that the chaos started after cattle belonging to one herder ruined a field in the region. However, the farmers were attacked by the herders after they tried to take the cows into an enclosure, Naija News learnt.

Narrating the incident to Nigeria News, Salamat’s governor, Yambaye Abel Massira said: “I can confirm that these clashes caused 11 deaths, around 10 wounded and 12 people who started the conflict have been arrested,”

He added that; “Several villages and fields were subsequently attacked and destroyed.”

Naija News understands that a number of outbreaks of violence have been recorded in Southern Chad between sedentary farmers and cattle raisers from the Fulani community.

Records have it that at least 33 people were killed in such clashes between the end of November and mid-December 2020.

Speaking on Thursday, December 31, 2020, Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno expressed his concerns about the wave of recent violence. He said:  “Such a degree of animosity and hatred between communities is inconceivable,”

Nigeria News quoted Deby saying that “absolutely nothing can explain this outbreak of violence,” adding that the use of force had to remain within the law.

In another news, Naija News reported that former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe is dead.