At least 100 dead, 40 injured in clashes between "Gold Miners" In Chad

 

Around 100 people have died in clashes between gold miners in northern Chad, Defence Minister General Daoud Yaya Brahim said on Monday.

Violence broke out on May 23 at Kouri Bougoudi near the Libyan border, sparked by a "mundane dispute between two people which degenerated," he said, adding that the toll was "around 100 dead and at least 40 wounded."

The clashes occurred in the Tibesti Mountains, a rugged and lawless region in the central Sahara some 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the capital N'Djamena.

The discovery of gold there 10 years ago sparked a rush of miners from across Chad and neighbouring countries, and tensions often run high.

The latest clashes were between Mauritanians and Libyans, Yaya Brahim said.

He spoke to AFP by phone from the area, where he said he was with a large military contingent sent to help restore order.

"This isn't the first time that there's been violence among gold miners in the region, and we have decided to suspend all gold mining at Kouri until further notice," he said, adding that "the great majority (of mines in the area) are illegal."

The incident was first announced last Wednesday, when Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement there had been "loss of human life and several wounded," but gave no further details.

The same day, the head of Chad's National Human Rights Commission, Mahamat Nour Ibedou, told AFP that after the fighting broke out, "the government sent in a force to intervene, which fired on people".

"According to our information, there are at least 200 dead," he said, adding that he had no evidence to support this figure.

Succes Masra, who heads an opposition party called The Transformers, and Chad's main armed rebel movement, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), also gave a toll of some 200 dead.