Clashes between two communities in eastern Chad have killed at least 42 people, the public security ministry said Thursday, in a desert region of the vast Sahel country often hit by land disputes.
The ministry did not say exactly who was involved in the fighting or how long it went on, but the area regularly sees clashes between sedentary farmers and nomadic breeders, or other groups, over land.
It said in a statement that the fighting led to the arrest of 175 people at the scene, where "a large part" of the village of Tileguey in Ouaddai province was "set on fire by armed men".
"The situation is under control but I'm trying to reconcile the different parties," Public Security Minister General Mahamat Charfadine Margui told AFP in a telephone message.
The minister was at the site of the fighting, heading a delegation of government and army members aimed at "shedding full light" on the incident.
In eastern and southern Chad, where many residents are armed, clashes frequently break out as farmers accuse herders of allowing animals to graze on their land or trample on crops.