Chad: Police arrest "around fifty" opposition activists

Around fifty Chadian opposition activists were arrested in N’Djamena on Sunday, as they prepared for the return of their leader, who has been in exile since a violent crackdown on a protest against the ruling junta a year ago.

The leader of the Les Transformateurs party, Succès Masra, reported on social media that over 200 of his supporters were arrested while renovating their headquarters and putting up posters.

Masra had announced his intention to return to Chad on September 10th to continue the fight with the people.

However, on Thursday, an international arrest warrant from N’Djamena was revealed, calling for his arrest abroad for incitement to insurrectional uprising, citing a video from May in which he allegedly called for a weaponized uprising in the southern region of the country where he hails from.

In April 2021, after the death of President Idriss Déby Itno, a junta of fifteen generals declared his son, General Mahamat Idriss Déby, president for a transition period initially set for eighteen months.

However, in October 2022, the junta extended this period by two years, citing the need for a national reconciliation dialogue that most of the opposition and powerful armed rebel groups boycotted.