At least 42 people killed in eastern Chad during clashes over water resources

At least 42 people were killed and 10 injured in intercommunal fighting over water resources in eastern Chad, officials said on Sunday.

The clashes took place in the Wadi Fira province, near the border with Sudan, and initially began as a dispute between two families over a water well.

The violence then escalated into a cycle of reprisals over a wider area, prompting an intervention by the army.

Several ministers, senior local officials, and the military's chief of staff were dispatched to the scene on Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister Limane Mahamat confirmed the death toll and said those injured were evacuated to the provincial health centre.

Mahamat said the “swift response” by the military helped contain the clashes and that the situation is now “under control."

The deputy prime minister announced the launch of a "customary mediation" process in the village and of judicial proceedings to determine criminal responsibility.

Intercommunal clashes over resources are common in the Central African country. Last year, clashes between farmers and herders in southwestern Chad left 42 people dead and several homes burned.

Conflicts over farm and grazing land have caused more than a thousand deaths and 2,000 injuries between 2021 and 2024, according to estimates by the NGO International Crisis Group.

Eastern Chad has suffered renewed tensions and acute pressure over its resources as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled fighting in neighbouring Sudan since the war began in April 2023.

In February, Chad closed its border with Sudan “until further notice,” calling it an attempt to limit the spread of conflict into its territory after multiple crossings by fighters with the warring Sudanese factions.