The leaders of Chad’s main opposition groups said on Wednesday that they had been forced into hiding over fears for their safety, following a deadly crackdown on anti-junta demonstrations.

Succes Masra, head of the Transformers party, told AFP he was in another country because he was wanted by the presidential guard.

Max Loalngar of Wakit Tamma said he was hiding somewhere within the country to avoid arrest.

Both opposition figures have accused the junta of extra-judicial killings and mass arrests as they suppressed protests over delayed elections.

Officially, around 50 people died when security forces opened fire on the demonstrators in the capital N’Djamena and several other cities last month.

But opposition groups say the actual toll was much higher, with unarmed civilians massacred, at least 300 people wounded and hundreds more arrested.

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