Chad’s former prime minister and opposition leader, Succès Masra, has been arrested for his alleged connection to a violent clash in the country’s southwest that left at least 42 people dead.

The public prosecutor said Masra is suspected of spreading hateful messages on social media linked to the violence.

The deadly fight happened on Wednesday in the village of Mandakao, near the Cameroonian border.

According to the prosecutor, messages circulated online urged people to arm themselves against others.

The exact cause of the violence is unclear, but a source told AFP it may have started over a land dispute between local farmers from the Ngambaye community and Fulani herders.

This conflict between farmers and herders has been a growing problem, with farmers accusing herders of grazing animals on their land.

Masra’s party, Transformers, said he was "kidnapped" by military officers early in the morning and called his arrest “carried out outside of any known judicial procedure.”

Masra is a strong critic of President Mahamat Déby and claimed to have won last year’s elections before saying the victory was stolen.

Official results showed Déby won with 61% of the vote.

More than 80 other people have been detained related to the clashes. Masra served briefly as interim prime minister in the transitional government from January to May 2024.

His party boycotted last December’s legislative elections due to doubts about the fairness of the process.

The Déby family has controlled Chad for over 30 years, with Mahamat Déby taking power after his father, Idriss Déby Itno, was killed by rebels in 2021.