Mourners hold funerals in Chad’s capital, police shoot at protesters in the south

Hundreds of singing mourners carrying Chadian flags gathered in the capital N’Djamena on Saturday to bury some of the victims killed this week during demonstrations against the country’s new military government when security forces in the southern city of Sarh shot and wounded at least four protesters, according to hospital sources.

Lots of mourners arrived in N’Djamena by minibus and motorcycle taxi during a scorching sun at noon, while military and police vehicles lined the road to the cemetery entrance. Family members complained when Yannick Djikoloum’s flag – draped coffin was lowered to the ground.

“The history of great men is written in blood. The victory of the Chadian people is in hand, ”reads a sign held by a mourner.

The 20-year-old was one of at least six people who died on Tuesday when demonstrations began before dawn in the biggest unrest that has hit N’Djamena since the military announced a week earlier that rebels had killed Chad’s president Idriss Deby on a remote battlefield.

Fears of further hardware kept protesters at home in N’Djamena on Saturday, although a protest was quickly called off in the southern city of Sarh.

‘We lived through a horrible scene’

Protesters in Sarh beat pots and pans in a demonstration of defiance of the military council while police responded by firing into the crowd with live ammunition, witnesses said. A person who was shot in the abdomen is in critical condition, according to a doctor who requested anonymity.

“Two of my friends were wounded by gunfire right in front of me and spent more than an hour on the ground before being transported to the hospital,” Allaissem Bernodji Manace, who was protesting in Sarh, told Reuters.

“We lived through a horrible scene,” he said.

The leader of the civil society in the neighboring town of Koumra said that a dozen people were arrested during a parallel protest, to which the security forces responded with beatings and tear gas.

A representative of the Chad Military Council declined to comment on the actions of the security forces, but said the protesters “were only young people marching through the streets and creating traffic jams.”

UN expresses concern over ‘disproportionate use of force’

On Tuesday, security forces were accused of shooting at crowds taking to the streets to protest the military’s appointment of Deby’s 37-year-old son, Mahamat, after his death. According to Chad’s constitution, power should have been handed over to the president of the National Assembly.

The UN Human Rights Office expressed concern over Tuesday’s violence, saying it was “deeply disturbed by the seemingly disproportionate use of force – including the use of live ammunition – by defense and security forces.”

Meanwhile, the caretaker Prime Minister called for unity on Saturday after civil society groups called for protests to continue.

“We must unite to ensure peace and restore calm,” said Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke, urging people to support the interim government.

The ghosts of more anti-government protests are just one of the threats now facing the Transitional Military Council in power. The rebels accused of killing Deby have also continued to fight the Chadian military 300 kilometers north of the capital.

The armed group known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad has threatened to attack the capital and oust Deby’s son. However, a march on N’Djamena became less likely after former colonizer France publicly gave its support to the new administration.

The French have a large military base in Chad, and the rebels have already accused France of providing intelligence on rebel positions to the Chadian army.

France’s acceptance of Mahamat Idriss Deby comes after Chad became an important partner in the fight against Islamic extremism during his father’s time. Chadian forces have played a critical role in the fight against Islamic extremism, especially in northern Mali, and the French government described Deby as a “brave friend” after his death.

( Jowharwith AP and REUTERS)