Chad’s junta on March 13 opened delayed peace talks with rebel and opposition groups in Qatar. But things got off to a bad start when one of the main rebel outfits–the Front for Change & Concord in Chad (FACT)–walked out amid confusion over Doha’s role as a mediator. Chad was plunged into uncertainty last April when long-time ruler Idriss DĂ©by was killed while commanding troops combating a FACT offensive. Power was then seized by DĂ©by’s 38-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss DĂ©by, who outlined an 18-month transition. The Doha talks are considered a precursor to a national dialogue that the younger DĂ©by is organizing before planned elections. But in a country that has experienced decades of rebellion and state repression, things are unlikely to proceed smoothly. Just last month a phone conversation surfaced in which Timan Erdimi—head of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), one of the rebel groups present in Doha—discussed plans to oust DĂ©by using the Kremlin-linked mercenary Wagner Group. (The New Humanitarian)
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Protesters massacred in Chad
Security forces in Chad opened fire on anti-government demonstrators in the country’s two largest cities, killing dozens of people. At least 30 were killed in the capital, N’Djamena, with a simialr number killed in the second city of Moundou. Hundreds had taken to the streets to mark the date the military initially promised to hand over power—a period that has been extended for another two years. (Al Jazeera)