President Muhammadu Buhari says he is shocked and saddened in the wake of the ethnic clashes in the South Eastern Region of Salamat, Chad that claimed several lives.
Ethnic tension in the central African country of Chad left at least 55 people dead and more than 40 injured as three villages were burned to the ground.
The clashes in the south-eastern region of Salamat erupted between different ethnic groups on Wednesday night in the villages around the provincial capital of Am Timan, according to Salamat governor Abel Yamabaye Massira.
However, Buhari extended heartfelt condolences to President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad over the incident.
“I am shocked and saddened by the incident that shattered decades of relative peace and stability in Chad,” Buhari said.
He added that “ethnic and tribal clashes is a threat to African unity and stability and Nigeria joins the rest of Africa to deplore the latest eruption of violence in Chad.”
The president underscored the need for African leaders and people to manage their diversity with tolerance and understanding.
He noted that “a threat to stability in one part of Africa is a threat to the rest of us.”
According to Buhari “given Africa’s economic and social challenges, we cannot afford mutual destruction that makes our challenges more complicated.”
Meanwhile, President Buhari also commiserates with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the government and people of Egypt over the train accident in Northern Cairo that killed dozens of people and injured 98 others.
