Sahel Edition

Chad regime bans protest before announcing candidacy of autocrat Idriss DebyF

Posted On 2 February 2021

Number of times this article was read : 401

Chad’s government has barred the opposition from staging protests ahead of an expected announcement by President Idriss Deby Itno’s party that the veteran leader will be its champion in upcoming elections. In a decree published late Monday, Public Security Minister Mahamat Tahir Orozi said the authorities “cannot allow the holding of such protests, which have the potential to provoke public disorder across the country.”

The organisers told AFP the demonstrations were “peaceful marches” for political change and equality and vowed to carry on with them as scheduled. They are due to take place every day from Thursday to Sunday.

Deby, a 68-year-old former army chief, has been in power since December 1990, when he ousted the autocratic Hissene Habre. He has been re-elected every five years since then, thanks to constitutional changes approved by a referendum in 2005 to remove limits on presidential terms. He is expected to be named by his party on Saturday as its candidate for the April 11 elections.

AFP

More on the Sahel

West Africa: Jihadist Attacks Intensify in Northern Benin Amid Cross-Border Insurgency Pressure$

Jihadist attacks in northern Benin have intensified in recent weeks, with militants linked to JNIM claiming a deadly assault on a military position near the Niger border and carrying out additional raids on security posts along the country’s volatile frontiers with Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The violence underscores how northern Benin has become part of a wider cross-border insurgency spilling south from the central Sahel, even as authorities bolster Operation Mirador and try to prevent armed groups from entrenching themselves on Beninese soil.

Desert Locusts Stir Fresh Worries in North-West Africa$

Small desert locust swarms recently detected along the western Sahara corridor have prompted stepped-up monitoring across parts of North and West Africa, where shifting rainfall can quickly turn quiet desert areas into launchpads for wider infestations.

Mali Army, Russian Allies Accused of Executing Civilians Near Mauritania Border$

Seven Malian refugees traveling from Mauritania were allegedly executed by Malian soldiers and Russian Africa Corps personnel near Ahl El Kory, close to the Mauritanian border, after their vehicles were stopped on March 6. Local sources say the unarmed Fulani civilians were shot or had their throats cut, while other passengers were beaten, questioned as suspected jihadists, then released.