Chad Declares State of Emergency After Farmer-Herder Clashes

(Bloomberg) -- Chad President Idriss Deby closed the border with Sudan and declared a three-month state of emergency in the east following clashes between herders and farmers that left more than 109 people dead this month.

Conflict over grazing land is increasing in West and central Africa due to a combination of climate change, population growth and political instability. Fighting between farmers and herders this year led to some of Mali’s worst massacres and is estimated to have killed more people in Nigeria than Islamist militant attacks.

Deby, who in May had pledged to send 15,000 soldiers to the east, said in comments broadcast on national radio that the situation was “disastrous,” before listing measures to end the inter-communal conflict. The closure of the Sudan border is meant to cut the circulation of arms in a region where guns are extremely cheap and easy to get.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel N'doh Nadjitan in N'Djamena at nnadjitan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.