Background
On 8 January, heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential compound in the capital N’Djamena. The assault, which ultimately failed, left around 20 dead. On 30 January, the last French military base was formally handed over to national authorities, marking the complete withdrawal of foreign troops.
At the end of May, UNHCR counted over 2 million people in situations of forced displacement nationwide. On 3 June, UNHCR warned that the number of Sudanese refugees in Chad had more than tripled since April 2023, surpassing 1.2 million. UNHCR reported 1,330,950 Sudanese refugees in Chad as of 31 December. The data analysis organization ACAPS estimated that 7 million people in Chad required humanitarian assistance in 2025.
In eastern Chad, violence and mass displacement overwhelmed health services, and deepened food insecurity and poverty.
Right to life and security of the person
On 14 and 15 May, tensions between farmers and herders over access to grazing land in the village of Mandakao, Logone Occidental erupted into violence, which ultimately resulted in a massacre of 47 men, women and children from herding communities.
On 17 June, inter-communal clashes in Ouaddaï region in the east of the country left at least 20 dead and 16 wounded. Days later, an attack by herders in Oregomel, Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, a region in the south-west close to Logone Occidental, killed 18 and injured 17.
OCHA reported that, in total, inter-communal violence during May and June resulted in over 80 deaths as well as the displacement of an estimated 12,500 people across Logone Occidental and Mayo-Kebbi Ouest. OCHA highlighted gaps in systems to ensure violence prevention, the protection of lives and access to justice. While a pastoral code to regulate access to land and water resources remained under consideration, this had not been adopted by the end of the year. Meanwhile, other mechanisms for managing tensions, such as local mixed committees, remained fragile.1
Following the Mandakao killings, the authorities deployed security forces, dispatched a government delegation and opened a judicial inquiry. On 16 May, former prime minister and opposition leader Succès Masra was arrested in connection with the case. On 9 August, he was convicted of “disseminating racist and xenophobic messages” and of “complicity in murder”, receiving a 20-year prison sentence pending appeal. His lawyers argued that the statements cited against him were made years earlier and had no connection to the case. In the same trial, 65 co-defendants each received 20-year prison terms.
Following the Oregomel attack, the government reported that around 20 suspects had been arrested and announced the reinforcement of security measures pending prosecutions.
Impunity persisted after several cases of deadly clashes between herders and farmers that had occurred in 2023 and 2024.
Freedom of expression and association
On 14 June, the public prosecutor in N’Djamena warned that journalists and civil society actors travelling to Mandakao to investigate the killings of herders could face prosecution for conducting “parallel investigations” liable to disrupt the official inquiry. National outlets and press freedom groups condemned what they saw as an attempt to deter independent reporting on the killings. On 25 June, the media regulator, the High Authority for Media and Broadcasting, issued a general caution about “media excesses” during crises. On 27 August, Reporters Without Borders reported surveillance, intimidation and self-censorship among journalists following these warnings, and urged the authorities to allow independent investigations.
On 26 June, the minister of territorial administration dissolved the Youth Association for Community Mobilization and Rural Development and the National Youth Coordination for Peace and Development in Chad. He also prohibited the activities of Le Temps (“The Time”) citizens’ movement as well as the political section of the opposition and civil society coalition Wakit Tama (“The Time Has Come”). The minister cited considerations of public order and non-compliance with the legal framework.
Right to education
UNICEF reported that, as of 31 March, 849,000 children were out of school in eastern Chad, of whom some 600,000 were living in host communities and 249,000 were among registered refugees and returnees. It noted a pre-existing shortfall of about 2,900 classrooms in Ouaddaï, Sila and Wadi Fira. In April, UNICEF warned of an 85% funding shortfall for the eastern Chad education response, highlighting persistent barriers to the right to education for children affected by the refugee and displacement crisis.
Women’s and girls’ rights
On 10 July, the CEDAW committee welcomed Chad’s adoption of a new law on the prevention of violence against women and girls and urged its effective implementation. The committee expressed concerns over the ongoing high incidence of gender-based violence, including sexual and domestic violence, as well as its under-reporting. It found that “low prosecution and conviction rates” continued, with lenient sentences for perpetrators who did receive convictions. The stigmatization of survivors continued, with the use of traditional, community-based mediation often facilitating impunity for perpetrators and undermining the rights of women and girls.
The committee called upon the authorities to ensure access to affordable, inclusive or, if necessary, “free legal aid and forensic evidence” for victims of gender-based violence. It called for action to provide victim support services and protection, including adequate and accessible shelters, medical treatment, psycho-social counselling and economic support. It urged the government to continue to build the capacity of judges, prosecutors, police and other law enforcement agencies in gender-sensitive approaches to the investigation and prosecution of crimes.
