A local administrative official told AFP that attackers had also burned villages. Another official said the situation appeared to be under control following the security deployment, with the provincial government representative present. The death toll remained provisional.
Accounts differ over the immediate trigger. Tchadinfos’ initial local sources described a recurring dispute over a well; a local legislator subsequently told AFP that the confrontation began when a herder sought to water cattle at a pond. Both accounts place access to water at the centre of the violence.