In Chad, clashes between gold miners have left around a hundred people dead in the country’s far north.

The announcement came a week after clashes between miners at the Kouribougoudi gold mine in northern Chad left around 100 dead and around 40 injured. Chad’s Minister of Defense made the announcement only on Monday, May 30.

On May 23, fighting broke out in Kouri Bougoudi in northern Chad, near the Libyan border. “A banal argument between two people has degenerated”, On Monday, May 30, Defense Minister General Daoud Yaya Brahim said by telephone that a large military contingent sent in the days after the tragedy was at the scene.

The subsequent conflict between the gold miners triggered “One hundred dead and at least forty injured”, He continued.

The area is located in Tibesti’s vast mountainous and inaccessible desert areas, which are full of mines that are often secretly exploited by numerous gold prospectors from all over the country and neighboring Libya, Niger and Sudan. The harsh climate makes it difficult for the authorities to control these places.

The clashes, more than 1,000 kilometers northeast of the capital, N’Djamena, were halted on Wednesday, Transport Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a press release. “Casualties and multiple injuries”, But no further details were disclosed.

“This is not the first time that there has been conflict between gold miners in the area and we have decided to suspend all gold mining in Guri until further notice as we know that the vast majority of gold mining is illegal.” Daoud Yaya Brahim said it was confirmed that the conflict was between the Mauritanian and Libyan peoples.

AFP reports