Emotions run high at funeral of Chad protester

Emotions ran high in the capital of Chad on Monday at the funeral of a man shot dead during protests against the transitional military council.

Mourners gathered to pay their last respects to Aggee Barkembaye, who died of injuries sustained when he was shot during a demonstration in N'Djamena last Tuesday.

His brother said Barkembaye's death, and those of several others, were like "throwing oil on a fire", with people determined to keep up their protests.

Mahamat Idriss Deby was put in charge earlier this month after the military announced that his father, Idriss Deby Itno, had been killed by rebels on the battlefield.

Political opponents immediately decried the army's move as a coup d'etat, taking to the streets in protest.

Security forces violently put down one demonstration in the capital, fatally shooting at least six protesters, including Barkembaye.

Hundreds of others were detained by police.

The council on Monday pressed ahead with solidifying its hold on power after announcing a new government over the weekend that kept key ministries in the hands of allies.

Under the posts announced late on Sunday, Chad's new justice minister, tasked with overseeing the cases of the protesters, comes from an opposition party.

And for the first time, a minister of "reconciliation and dialogue" has been named.

But the newly named ministers of defence and public security are both supporters of the council that took power following the longtime president's death.

And the Transformers political party, which has been at the forefront of the recent anti-government demonstrations, was not included in the new government lineup.

The prime minister's post already was handed to Albert Pahimi Padacke, an opposition politician who came second in last month's election, held just before Deby's killing.