A former Chadian Prime Minister and opposition leader, Succes Masra, was arrested early Friday on allegations of inciting hatred following deadly clashes in the southwestern Logone-Occidental region, PUNCH ONLINE reports.

Masra, who served briefly as prime minister from January to May last year, was reportedly taken from his home in the early hours, with his party, The Transformers, claiming he was abducted.

A video circulated online appeared to show Masra being escorted by armed men in military uniform, though its authenticity has not been independently verified.

Public Prosecutor Oumar Kedelaye confirmed Masra’s arrest, linking it to Wednesday’s violence in the region, which left 42 people dead, most of them women and children.

He stated that judicial police investigations had uncovered messages inciting civilians to arm themselves, allegedly tied to Masra, although no specific details or direct attribution were provided.

“The investigations carried out by the judicial police revealed the involvement” of Masra, Kedelaye told reporters.

“Messages were disseminated, particularly on social media, calling on the population to arm themselves against other citizens,” the prosecutor said.

The violence is believed to have stemmed from a dispute between Fulani nomadic herders and Ngambaye farmers over land use.

Ethnic and regional tensions continue to plague parts of Chad, with longstanding grievances among southern communities over marginalisation by the central government.

Masra, an ethnic Ngambaye from the Christian-majority south, challenged President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in last year’s presidential election, securing 18.5 percent of the vote to Deby’s 61.3 percent. He rejected the outcome, declaring himself the rightful winner.

A former economist educated in France and Cameroon, Masra has been a vocal critic of the Deby administration. Though appointed prime minister as part of a reconciliation initiative, he resigned five months later, and his party boycotted subsequent parliamentary elections, which solidified Deby’s hold on power.

Masra previously fled the country after a violent crackdown on protests against the extension of the political transition in October 2022. Known as “Black Thursday,” the incident reportedly left up to 300 people dead, according to international observers.

Masra later returned from exile under a reconciliation agreement but faced backlash for engaging with the ruling junta.