Soldiers in the streets and reduced internet speed: crisis atmosphere in Ndjamena
Aerial view of Ndjamena (illustration).
© David Baché/RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
An atmosphere of crisis situation reigned this Sunday in the Chadian cities under curfew following the violence of October 20.
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The same scene for three days.
This Sunday around 5 p.m., all the inhabitants of Ndjamena, where a curfew is in force from 6 p.m., hastened to return home.
Since then, the shops have been closed and the streets empty of passers-by.
On the other hand, a large military force has been deployed.
Many army vehicles, sometimes equipped with heavy weapons, are visible in the capital.
If the internet is not cut off, the speed is so slow that even loading a Facebook page becomes complicated.
The 7th and 9th arrondissements of the capital are deprived of internet, as is part of the 6th.
A situation that the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson attributes to too many connections.
“
With the curfew, everyone is at home and on the lookout for information,
explains RFI Aziz Mahamat Saleh.
Everyone is connected at the same time.
There were already connection problems which were unfortunately accentuated.
Even the operators were invited by the government to improve things.
But to my knowledge, there is no internet outage on Chadian territory.
»
Visit of the President of the ECCAS Commission
For his part, the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) completed his assessment mission in Ndjamena on Sunday.
Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo wanted to take advantage of his 24-hour visit to meet the opponent Succès Masra, now president of the Les Transformateurs party, but the latter did not wish to come for security reasons.
The two men nevertheless spoke by telephone before the arrival of the commissioner in Ndjamena.
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To read also: Chad under tension and in shock after the repression of the demonstrations
During his visit to the Chadian capital, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo went to the Transformers headquarters ransacked by the security forces.
According to information from RFI, the soldiers who were blocking access withdrew on his arrival, before repositioning themselves after his departure.
This Sunday evening, soldiers were still positioned around the party headquarters.
On Saturday, the President of the ECCAS Commission met Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo in the presence of several other members of the government.
He also visited the headquarters of his party and that of his predecessor Albert Pahimi Padacké.
An ECCAS summit devoted to the situation in Chad is to be held Tuesday in Kinshasa on the basis of its mission report.
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