At least 42 people died and several were injured after clashes between the Army and gold miners in northern Chad, military sources confirmed to the EFE news agency on Saturday.
The clashes took place on Friday, in the surroundings of the town of Kouri Bougoudi, in the Tibesti region, close to the border with Libya, during an operation to evict the miners.
“A week ago we asked all those who are illegally extracting gold in the area to leave. The Army, which went to the area to enforce the decision, was received by well-armed miners,” Adam Nassoum, colonel of the Army and member of the operational command in Tibesti.
He continued: “Our forces retaliated for more than two hours, resulting in the deaths of 36 gold miners and six Chadian soldiers.”
According to residents of the area, several civilians died due to errors by the armed forces.
“Since night, seven of our countries were buried. Some were confused with miners. The army had to be able to distinguish between the civilian population and the bandits,” an official from a humanitarian NGO that works said to EFE, anonymously. in the area.
Since the discovery of vast amounts of gold in Tibesti in 2015, the territory has become the scene of clashes between irregular miners, the local population and the Chadian defense and security forces.
Source: TSF
