Chad parliament mulling anti-terrorism bill

Chadian lawmakers have been discussing a controversial bill to counter terrorism after attacks by the Boko Haram Takfiri group.

The lawmakers, which were debating the anti-terror bill for hours, could not come to a decision by Thursday evening.

The anti-terror legislation has already been approved by the government, but it needs parliamentary approval to become law.

Opponents and rights activists say the approval of the bill could be used to limit freedom because “terrorism” has been loosely defined in the bill.

Three Chadian unions said in a joint statement on Thursday that the vague definition of “terrorism” in the bill "opens civil society organisations and political parties to repression under the cover of (fighting) terrorism.”

"When pensioners occupy the streets ... to demand their pensions, they risk being branded terrorists. Even a simple speech can be seen as an apology for terrorism," Saleh Kebzabo, an opposition MP, said. 

The Chadian government's decision to pass the law and beef up security came after a number of bomb attacks in the country, including one in the capital N'Djamena.

On July 11, at least 14 people were killed in a bombing attack at a busy market in Chad’s capital city after an attacker, who had been stopped for security checks, detonated his explosives.

The attack appeared to be a retaliation by Boko Haram for Chad's leading role in an offensive against the Takfiri militants.

On June 15, two bomb attacks at a police academy and the city’s main police station also killed nearly 40 people. Nigeria’s Boko Haram Takfiri militants claimed the deadly blasts.

The three Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, located in Nigeria’s northeastern regions, have been the epicenter of Boko Haram violence. The violence, however, has spilled over into Nigeria’s neighboring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger. 

In February, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon formed a coalition and reportedly managed to drive the militants out of captured towns and villages in their offensive.

Boko Haram, whose name means Western education is forbidden, has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in Nigeria since the beginning of its operations in 2009. The group’s deadly militancy has so far killed at least 15,000 people and left over 1.5 million others homeless.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group, which mainly operates in Syria and Iraq.

The Takfiri group says its main objective is to overthrow the Abuja government.

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