Chad water well dispute escalates leaving at least 42 dead

At least 42 people have been killed and 10 injured in fighting between rival ethnic groups in eastern Chad in a conflict that began as a dispute over a water well, officials say. The conflict in Wadi Fira province, initially between two families, is said to have escalated into a cycle of reprisal attacks that spread over a wide area, with villages burned down. Chadian authorities said on Sunday that a delegation led by deputy Prime Minister Limane Mahamat had been sent to the area and the situation had been brought under control. Deadly communal clashes are common in the central African nation, with a long-running pattern of disputes between farmers and herders, as well as ethnic tensions. The clashes are often triggered by competition over water and grazing land. The arrival of refugees fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Sudan in recent months has further raised tensions over resources and security. On Sunday, the deputy prime minister said the government was taking all necessary measures to prevent the conflict in Sudan from destabilising the border area. Communal clashes in Chad have led to the death of hundreds of people in recent years, including 33 killed in November over

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