Chad: Summary Executions and Massacres

Case TCD 190398

The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Chad.

Brief description of the situation:

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by reliable
sources of the grave concern for the peoples living in the region
known as East and West Longone who appear to have been the victims of
summary execution and massacre following a military intervention into
the area. Given the continued presence of the military in the region,
the threat of continued violations is extreme.

According to the information received, toward the end of last year
opposition armed forces, known as the FARF (The Armed Forces for the
Federal Republic) reappeared in the region. The civilian population
was subjected to violence and abuses on the part of this group

Citing the need to guarantee the rule of law and human rights in the
region, the authorities dispatched a great number of troops from both
the FIR (Forces d'Intervention Rapide - The Rapid Intervention Forces)
and the National Army of Chad (ANT), in a move to re-establish
stability.

Since the end of February of 1998, it seems that the peoples of both
West and East Logones have been subjected to grave human rights abuses
committed including, amongst others, summary execution and torture on
the part of the Military Authorities of Chad.

Persons belonging too, or suspected of having links with the FARF have
been summarily executed and their bodies dumped in the countryside.
Villages where the FARF have passed or believed to have passed are
allegedly subjected to group punishment. Rape, theft and burning of
property appears to have been employed by the authorities to punish
and terrify villagers.

Roadblocks and stations inside villages have been established and make
civilian movement almost impossible.

According to information received, at least 43 persons have been
allegedly summarily executed.

Canton of Benoye: according to the information, the army intercepted a
vehicle belonging to a religious group (l'Alliance Biblique
Universelle - an organisation which distributes religious texts). The
vehicle was emptied of its cargo of Bibles and the driver forced to
drive to the village of Talade. The people of the village were
apparently  forced into a public place where 25 persons were tied up.
These persons were forced into the vehicle and then driven out of the
village and allegedly summarily executed.

It appears that the civilian population has been driven to flee to the
countryside or urban centres like Moundou in attempt to seek refuge.
It is further alleged that those injured by either side are often too
scared to seek medical treatment as the authorities apparently conduct
searches in the hospitals.

Action requested:

Please write to the Chadian authorities urging them to:

i.	bring an immediate end to the perpetration of human rights abuses
and take immediate measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of the peoples of East and West Logone;

ii.	ensure that all those injured during the events have access to
appropriate medical facilities;

iii.	open a full impartial inquiry into the events, identify all those
responsible and bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or
administrative sanctions provided by legislation; iv.	ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with  national laws and international standards.

Addresses
Général Idriss Déby, Président de la République, Présidence de la
République, N'Djaména, République du Tchad. Faxes : + 235 51 45 01/51
46 53

Monsieur Mahamat Limane, Ministre de la Justice et Garde des Sceaux,
Ministère de la Justice, N'Djaména, République du Tchad. Telegram :
Ministre Justice Laina, N'Djamena, Chad.

Geneva, 19 March 1998

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.