At least 42 people were killed in eastern Chad after a dispute between two families at a water well escalated into wider violence, government officials said. The clashes began in Wadi Fira province near the Sudanese border and spread across a large area before security forces moved in.
Deputy Prime Minister Limane Mahamat, visiting the village where the fighting started, said the military intervened to contain the violence and that the situation is now under control. Local authorities have opened judicial investigations to determine criminal responsibility, while customary mediators and officials working in the area have launched traditional reconciliation efforts.
Community fights over resources, especially water and grazing land, are common in Chad and often involve tensions between farmers and herders. Extreme weather and dwindling water supplies have increased the frequency and intensity of such disputes. Last November, a separate confrontation over a well in Hadjer-Lamis province in western Chad left at least 33 people dead.
The recent incident comes against a backdrop of broader pressures on the country. Chad is home to about 200 ethnic groups and more than 100 languages, and roughly 42% of the population lives below the poverty line. Between 2021 and 2024, southern and central provinces saw roughly 100 clashes between farming and herding communities, which the International Crisis Group estimates caused over 1,000 deaths and about 2,000 injuries.
Access to safe water is limited: UN figures show that only about 52% of Chad’s population has access to basic drinking-water services, and that percentage falls to 44% in rural areas. The eastern regions, where many refugees are hosted, are particularly affected by water scarcity.
Chad is also coping with a large refugee presence. Since the war in neighboring Sudan began in 2023, the country has received more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees along its eastern border; in total Chad is hosting over 1.5 million refugees, placing additional strain on public services and natural resources.
Officials and community leaders say preventing further clashes will require bolstering water access, improving local conflict-resolution mechanisms, and addressing the deeper economic and environmental pressures that fuel resource violence.