The delayed transition
After President Idriss Déby died in April 2021, a military-led transition headed by his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, promised a return to civilian rule. By October 2022, the transition had been extended for another two years.
Opposition groups and civil-society organizations called demonstrations for October 20, close to the original handover deadline. Authorities banned the protests, but thousands gathered in N'Djamena and towns including Moundou, Doba and Sarh.
The violence on October 20
Human Rights Watch documented security forces firing live ammunition, beating people, pursuing residents into homes and making arrests. Its researchers later interviewed 68 victims, relatives, witnesses, officials, lawyers and civil-society representatives.
Witnesses said some protesters threw stones with slingshots and burned government property. The government described the events as an armed uprising and said security forces acted against an attempted seizure of power. The file distinguishes that official characterization from witness accounts and from proof of individual criminal conduct.
A disputed death toll
Chadian authorities said 50 people were killed, including about 15 police officers, and 300 were injured. Human Rights Watch could not confirm the reported police deaths and said local groups believed the number of protesters and residents killed was higher. Contemporary reporting also described at least 50 deaths while noting that the toll could not be independently confirmed.
The victims included journalist Orédjé Narcisse. Human Rights Watch separately documented named civilians allegedly shot during or after the demonstrations and reported deaths following detention. The total remains uncertain because some people were missing and deaths during transport or detention were not fully counted.
Arrests and Koro Toro
The United Nations estimated that more than 1,400 people were detained. Officials said 621 people, including 83 children, were held at Koro Toro, a high-security prison about 600 kilometres from the capital. Former detainees told Human Rights Watch that people died during the journey and at the prison amid severe deprivation.
Those accounts require independent investigation. This archive does not convert an unverified total into a fixed death count and does not assume that every arrest or custody outcome followed the same sequence.
The mass trials
By early December, 401 alleged protesters had been tried on charges including unauthorized gathering, destruction of property, arson and disturbing public order. Human Rights Watch reported 59 acquittals, 262 prison sentences of two to three years and 80 suspended sentences.
Those cases adjudicated alleged conduct by protesters. They were not trials determining which security personnel were responsible for unlawful shootings, torture or custody deaths. The distinction is central to the unresolved status used here.
Calls for an independent inquiry
An investigation commission was announced under the auspices of the Economic Community of Central African States. Human-rights lawyers and civil-society representatives questioned whether it would be independent and sought technical support from the United Nations.
Human Rights Watch called for prompt, independent and transparent criminal investigations into killings, torture, deaths in detention and unlawful detention. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights condemned excessive force and urged respect for freedoms of expression and assembly.
Current status
No final judgment establishing complete individual responsibility for the protest-related and custody deaths was located for this publication. Later political agreements or releases of detainees do not themselves resolve those deaths.
The case remains classified as unresolved. Convictions of protesters are reported as separate proceedings and are not presented as accountability for alleged abuses by security forces.
Questions still unanswered
- What is the complete, independently verified list of people killed or missing?
- How many deaths occurred during transport to or detention at Koro Toro?
- Which units and individuals discharged live ammunition, and under what orders?
- Did the announced inquiry produce a public, evidence-based report?
- Have families received effective investigations, prosecutions or reparations?
Frequently asked questions
Is the death toll settled?
No. Authorities reported 50 deaths, while human-rights groups believed the number of protesters and residents killed was higher.
Did the mass trials resolve the killings?
No. Those proceedings concerned alleged offences by protesters, not individual responsibility for alleged unlawful killings by security forces.
Why is the case classified as unresolved?
No final judgment establishing complete criminal responsibility for the protest and custody deaths was located.