A Non-Government Organisation (NGO) said poachers killed at least five elephants for their tusks last week in southern Chad.
The elephants were found slaughtered in the vicinity of Beinamar, the administrative centre of the Dodjé department, 400 kilometres south of the capital N'Djamena, according to Adam Ahmat Assane, secretary general of SOS Elephants.
The NGO said it is concerned by the sudden rise in poaching of Chad's wildlife.
Meanwhile, Chad’s deputy director general of the administration of forestry, wildlife and fisheries, Hamid Mahamat Hissein Itno confirmed the killing of the elephants to AFP.
"Elephants have been killed but their number has not yet been communicated to me, our forces are tracking down the poachers who shot them," he was quoted as saying.
More than 200 elephants were killed between 2009 and 2011, in the provinces of Chari Baguirmi and Mayo Kebbi East, which are near to Beinamar and the border with Cameroon.
There are less than 1,500 elephants left in Chad compared to tens of thousands 30 years ago, according to SOS Elephants.
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