The clashes took place on May 23 in the Kouri Bougoudi district, located in the hardly accessible Tibesti Mountains close to the Libyan border.
Kouri Bougoudi is home to the largest goldfield in northern Chad. Most of the gold there is extracted through illicit artisanal mining, which involves tens of thousands of individuals from central Chad and other countries, including Sudan, Libya, Niger and Mauritania.
“The violence was triggered by a minor dispute between two individuals,” said Chad’s Minister of Defence, Brahim Yai, to Chadian media after the event.
The exact circumstances of the escalation remain unclear, however.
The disarmament announcement came amid Deby’s visit to the site, during which he was trying to restore order in the region.
“No civilian should hold weapons and military members unable to enforce the order are asked to leave the army,” said Deby, calling on all Chadians and foreigners to leave the area.
Deby also said that a military camp would be set up in the middle of the site to ensure safety and prevent infiltration by armed militias.
The Tibesti Mountains, notorious for being home to numerous armed rebellions, have been wracked with trouble ever since Chad gained independence from France in 1960. The security situation was further exacerbated by the dissolution of the Libyan state in 2011 and the gold rush following the discovery of gold in 2012.
In the near absence of state control, the region has become a prominent hub for arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking and armed banditry. Moreover, the influx of migrants led to tensions with the indigenous Toubou people. It also gave rise to frequent intercommunal fights over mining resources, sometimes involving Sudanese and Chadian rebel groups based in Libya.
Once the security is restored, gold mining in Kouri Bougoudi is to be resumed under the supervision of the Ministry of Mines, accessible only to Chadians.
In the past years, the government made many attempts to subject gold mining in the district to state control, but all ended in failure.
Deby acknowledged the fact.
“This time, you have no room for error. I will not leave until my instructions are applied on the ground,” he appealed to the soldiers.
