Chad: the call to demonstrate the opposition thwarted by a large military device
Chadian police officers patrol Ndjamena during a demonstration on April 27, 2021 (illustrative image).
AFP - ISSOUF SANOGO
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Citizen coordination Wakit Tama called, this Wednesday, May 19, for new marches to demand the resignation of the Transitional Military Council and denounce what they call “negative interference from France”.
Demonstrations banned by the authorities, who have put in place a military device that is to say the least dissuasive.
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The inhabitants of Ndjamena woke up this Wednesday morning in a city completely crisscrossed by the police.
And as is the case since the seizure of power by the CMT, these are the so-called "red berets", that is to say Forces specialized in war rather than the maintenance of order. which were deployed in the capital, especially in the 6th, 7th and 9th arrondissements which are considered as strongholds of the opposition.
Witnesses speak of dozens of heavily armed military Toyotas stationed at main crossroads and roundabouts, while others patrolled from dawn into the small streets of Ndjamena.
Civil society also accuses these soldiers of breaking into certain concessions where they allegedly mistreated and arrested at least four people.
Manifestation killed in the bud
This large-scale military arrangement apparently dissuaded opponents of the new military power from demonstrating as they wanted.
► See also
: Chad: Wakit Tama coordination calls for mobilization on May 19
As usual in such cases, the demonstrators split into small groups which attempted to demonstrate in their respective neighborhoods, including displaying signs demanding the resignation of the "
ruling military union, against the interference of the France in Chadian affairs and also against the African Union
", accused of having violated its own principles, by refusing to sanction"
the coup
"in Chad.
They also burned tires and some French flags, before the police intervened, but the situation remained rather normal in most neighborhoods of Ndjamena.
Several arrests reported
For the moment, we are talking about at least 17 demonstrators arrested in Ndjamena, including the president of the reformist party, Yasine Abdramane Sakine.
Arrests are also reported in other cities, especially in the south of the country, where residents have responded to the call of
the Wakit Tama citizen movement.
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