Anti-government protesters have ransacked and torched the party headquarters of Chad’s new Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo as security forces dispersed demonstrations calling for a quicker transition to democratic rule.
The vast, military-run Central African nation has been on edge since the sudden death in April 2021 of President Idriss Deby, who ruled with an iron fist for three decades.
Mr Deby was killed while visiting troops fighting rebels.
There has been resistance to a transitional military council headed by Mr Deby’s son, who took power after the president’s death and pushed back elections to October 2024.
Mr Kebzabo, president of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR) party, was named prime minister last week after his predecessor, Albert Pahimi Padacke, resigned.
A new national unity government was formed on Friday to lead Chad for the next two years until elections.
But critics are demanding a swifter return to democracy and a change in government after Mr Deby’s long rule.
Demonstrators used burning tyres to block roads in the capital N’Djamena early on Thursday, defying a government ban on the protest.
“Our headquarters were ransacked and then set on fire this morning,” UNDR vice-president Celestin Topona told Reuters via telephone.
Mr Padacke’s party headquarters were also attacked and set on fire, spokesman Abbakar Sidick said.
Several protesters were wounded as police used force and tear gas to break up gatherings throughout the city of around 100 people each.
Some protesters and posts on social media said live bullets were fired, but Reuters could not independently verify that claim.
A local journalist was shot and died from his injuries a few hours later, his brother said.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
Security forces have cracked down on several civil society and opposition-led protests denouncing the military takeover and France’s backing of the transitional government, sometimes causing deaths in the process.
In May, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse anti-French protests that saw the destruction of French-linked businesses.
