A group of Russians detained by the police in a part of northern Chad where the army has been battling a rebel invasion from Libya said on Wednesday that they were tourists who had come to sightsee in the Sahara Desert. The roughly 10 Russians were picked up last week by the police near the town of Faya Largeau because they were in a military operational zone, according to national police spokesperson Amane Issac Azina. Azina said they had not broken any laws and had not been arrested, but rather evacuated to the capital N’Djamena for their own safety. “We decided this time to visit the Republic of Chad because it is very interesting,” one of the Russians, Alexey Kamerzanov, told Reuters at an N’Djamena hotel. “Usually world travellers do not visit the Republic of Chad because it’s not the...
Rebels in northern Chad are ready to observe a ceasefire and to discuss a political settlement after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last week, a rebel spokesman said on Sunday. The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the northern border from Libya on April 11 calling for an end to Deby’s 30-year rule. They came as close as 200-300 km (125-185 miles) from the capital N’Djamena before being pushed back by the army. Deby was killed on Monday while visiting troops at the front, just after he won an election. His death shocked the Central African country, which has long been a Western ally against Islamist militants. The air force has since bombarded rebel positions, the military and rebels said. The military said on Saturday it had “annih...
Chadian army officers and intelligence officials were sentenced on Friday to up to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking, the state prosecutor and their lawyer told AFP. In January, a vehicle carrying 246 cartons of the opiate painkiller Tramadol, with an estimated value of 12.3 billion CFA francs (18.8 million euros, $21 million), was seized on its way to neighbouring Libya, a judicial source said. An army general, two colonels and a head of the National Security Agency were among 10 people sentenced in the capital N’Djamena. “Of the 11 defendants, six were sentenced to 10 years in prison and four to five years in prison, and one was released,” prosecutor Youssouf Tom told AFP. Those sentenced were also ordered to pay between $25,000 and $50,000, the prosecutor said. “The judge followed...
The incessant power tussle, ethnic tension and failure to actualise the establishment of a caliphate in the Sahel in the top echelon of Boko Haram/Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist groups are forcing their members to lay down their arms, the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has said. In a statement Friday, the MNJTF said 47 terrorists recently surrendered to its troops in the Lake Chad and surrounding areas. Timothy Antigha, the Chief of Military Public Information, MNJTF N’Djamena – said in the statement that the terrorists surrendered with their families in Sector 1 of the MNJTF. He said a member of the group, who admitted to have participated in various attacks on Banki, Fotokol, Gambarou Ngala, New Marte, Chikun Gudu, among others, had expressed frustration w...
Sourced from RFI. The health authorities in Chad are focusing on communities to build confidence so that citizens trust the right information and avoid risky behaviour. Communal living, not uncommon in many of N’Djamena’s neighbourhoods, the Chadian capital, is a source of fear among residents as COVID-19 persists. When the pandemic reached Chad, health authorities rolled out a raft of response measures, including door-to-door visits by community health educators to relay messages on safety. While face-to-face meetings are time-consuming, the sessions are more personal, often carried out by someone from the same community who speaks the same language and has the appropriate cultural understanding. Unlike broadcast messages, people can ask questions and seek clarifications in door-to-door c...