Chad: 11 dead in clashes between farmers, herders

Eleven people were killed in fighting between farmers and herders in Southern Chad on Wednesday, the governor of the region told AFP.

Chari’s governor, Abbadi Sahir said the hostilities were triggered by the devastation of a field by a farmer’s animals.

Similar clashes between local farmers and Arab herders led to state of emergency on August 18 in two provinces in the east of the country.

Governor Sahir said fighting in Koumogo township in central Chari province killed two people in the herder’s camp and eight in the farmer’s home. The farmer he said died in the hospital on Wednesday.

A local traditional chief who requested anonymity told AFP, a farmer was killed after his field was destroyed by animals and the nomads retaliated by attacking with firearms, killing eight people in the rival’s camp.

The police have been deployed to restore calm in the area, the local traditional chief said.

Governor Sahir said ‘‘I solved the problem and brought the two communities to talk to each other.’‘

Conflicts and tensions between herders and farmers are found in several other African countries, especially in Nigeria and the central African Republic.

AFP