Hundreds Arrested After Anti-government Protests in Chad

N'DJAMENA, CHAD - More than 700 people have been arrested in Chad following this week's demonstrations against the new military government led by the son of slain President Idriss Deby Itno, the United Nations said Friday.

Civil society groups are renewing calls for more protests over the weekend in the Central African country, where tensions have mounted in the aftermath of Deby's killing that was blamed on a rebel group now threatening to overthrow the interim government. U.N. human rights office spokesperson Marta Hurtado said it was not known how many of the people arrested after Tuesday's demonstrations are still being detained. "As further protests and general strikes have been called to take place in the coming days, we stress that Chad remains bound by its obligations under international human rights law to protect and respect human rights, including the right to life, and to facilitate the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly," she said in Geneva.