The military-run Central African nation has been in crisis since the April 2021 death of President Idriss Deby, who ruled with an iron fist for three decades.
No fewer than 50 people have been killed while 300 injured as protest rocks Chad over a demand for a quicker transition to democratic rule.
The military-run Central African nation has been in crisis since the April 2021 death of President Idriss Deby, who ruled with an iron fist for three decades.
His son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, seized power in the immediate aftermath and initially promised an 18-month transition to elections, but on October 1 he announced they would be pushed back by two years.
Opposition and civil society groups called for the protests on Thursday, which would have marked the end of an initially agreed 18-month transition period.
Hundreds took to the streets in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, where police clashed with protesters demanding an end to military rule as a democratic change turn violent.
Reuters reports that Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo said the government was compiling casualties from what he described as an armed insurrection.
However, human rights groups say unarmed civilians were massacred as security forces brutally cracked down on demonstrations in the capital N'Djamena and several other cities.
The government banned them, citing security reasons.
But demonstrators showed up early in the morning, barricaded roads and torched the party headquarters of the new prime minister.
"What happened today is an armed popular uprising to seize power by force and those responsible for this violence will face justice," Mr Kebzabo said.
He was an opponent of Mr Deby's regime and was named prime minister of a new "unity government" last week.
"The demonstrators had firearms and they are considered rebels," Mr Kebzabo said.
"The security forces responded only in self-defence."
The International Federation for Human Rights and its partner organisations in Chad said the protests were violently repressed by security forces and that cases of live gunfire, torture and arbitrary arrests had been reported.
Amnesty International researcher Abdoulaye Diarra said security forces used live rounds on protesters, based on witness accounts and analysis of photos and video from the day.
Chadian journalist Oredje Narcisse was among the dead, his brother said.
Other confirmed victims included a policeman who was fatally wounded in clashes, a 28-year-old protester who was shot in the neck, and Chadian musician Ray's Kim, who died in hospital.
"It's clear that an impartial investigation is needed to determine if protesters resorted to looting and violence and if security forces unlawfully resorted to lethal force across the country," Human Rights Watch Central Africa director Lewis Mudge said.
Riots have been intermittent in Chad since Mr Deby seized power last year, but Thursday's protest appeared to be the bloodiest.
The government declared a state of emergency and a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am, although the president had already declared a state of emergency on Wednesday due to catastrophic floods.