More than 620 people, including dozens of minors, have been arrested in Chad, the public prosecutor said on Friday, after anti-regime protests that left at least 50 dead.
The number of arrests is significantly more than what was previously publicly reported but what local and international rights organizations had indicated following the large-scale protests.
Moussa Wade Djibrine, the prosecutor in N'Djamena, told reporters that "621 persons had been detained and sent" to the high-security prison in the desert known as Koro Toro, which is located some 600 kilometres (360 miles) from the city.
According to him, those arrested were responsible for "serious acts and deliberate attacks on the Republic's institutions."
He noted that 220 persons came before an instructing magistrate and another 401 people appeared in court.
However, of those that were detained, 83 that appeared before courts were minors.
Wade Djibrine declined to comment more and provided no other information.
The administration has agreed to the notion of an international investigation to shed light on the killings on October 20 "as quickly as possible," according to Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo, who spoke to AFP last week.
Twelve security personnel were included in the official death toll, according to the authorities, who also charged the opposition with staging an "insurrection".
According to rights groups, dozens more people were killed during and since the protests across several cities.
The rallies were organized by opposition parties to coincide with the date on which the ruling military had first pledged to transfer power; General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has since extended the deadline by a further two years.
The 38-year-old took power after his father, President Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled for 30 years, died during an operation against rebels in April 2021.
Since the demonstrations, which left 300 people injured as well, the administration has put a halt to all party political activities.
A nighttime curfew has also been implemented in the capital N'Djamena as well as the towns of Moundou, Doba, and Koumra "until the total restoration of order."
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