By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DAKAR, Senegal – Senegalese authorities have charged former Chad dictator Hissene Habre with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and genocide.  Habre was president of Chad from 1982-1990 and has lived in exile in Senegal for 22 years.

Habre is accused of personally overseeing a system of oppression and using his police force to attack and terrorize perceived enemies. He is also accused of overseeing more than 40,000 political killings, systematic torture and other human rights violations. “Widespread systematic attacks were ordered against civilian populations. In this context, what followed was torture and detention followed by summary executions suffered by prisoners and political detainees,” The court’s attorney general, Mbacke Fall, told Reuters.

Habre left a meticulous and large paper trail behind him when he was deposed in 1990. A Human Rights Watch researcher, Reed Brody, discovered the political police forces archives in their former offices in 2001. The documents mention more than 12,000 victims and also indicate that Habre received direct information about 900 detainees. “What these documents make very clear is that Hissene Habre was kept informed of virtually everything, from the cloth being used for uniforms to the deaths of prisoners,” Brody told the Associated Press. “What we see here is a control freak, really, who was keeping on top of every detail.”

A special court was set up in Senegal, after pressure from the International Court of Justice and an agreement with the African Union, to look into the allegations against Habre last December.  Habre was also indicted for alleged crimes against humanity in 2000 but little action was taken on the case under the government of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade.

Habre’s defense team has claimed that the charges are political. They are quick to point out that the court’s highest donor is Chad’s current government run by Idriss Deby, who deposed Habre in 1990. “I think these are the false allegations of President Deby,” Mohammed Ali Tidiane, Habre’s nephew told the AP. “Deby is afraid of Habre. He knows that it’s Habre who liberated Chad from the arms of Gadhafi.”

Habre will be brought before the court’s judges for the confirmation of the charges on Tuesday.

For further information, please see:

Washington Post — For 2 decades, deposed Chad dictator lived luxurious life in Senegal but now must stand trial — 6 July 2013

Aljazeera —  Ex-Chad leader charged over war crimes — 2 July 2013

Reuters — Ex-Chad leader Habre faces war crimes charge: prosecutor — 1 July 2013

Voice of America — Former Chad Dictator Faces Charges of War Crimes — 1 July 2013

By Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – 29 students and 1 teacher were killed during an attack on a boarding school in Nigeria at 3 A.M. on Saturday.  The attackers doused a dormitory with fuel as the students slept and many were burned alive, while others were shot. Reports claim this as the deadliest attack on schools in northeast Nigeria.

Witnesses state that many of the 1,200 students at this boarding school escaped into the bush; however, they have yet to be found.  Parents rushed to the school in hopes of finding their children, screaming in anguish as they tried to identify the charred bodies.

One father, a farmer named Malam Abdullahi, located the bodies of his 10 and 12 year-old sons who had been shot in the back and in the chest.

“That’s it, I’m taking my other boys out of school,” Malam Abdullahi stated, indicating he will be taking his three younger children out of school who study nearby.

“It’s not safe.  The gunmen are attacking schools and there is no protection for students despite all the soldiers,” Abdullahi also stated.

A student, Musa Hassan, 15, told The Associated Press that “[w]e were sleeping when we heard gunshots. When I woke up, someone was pointing a gun at me.”  Hassan then put his arm up in defense and was then shot in the hand, blowing off all four of his fingers in his right hand, the hand he uses to write.  The militants then moved on after shooting him, sparing Hassan his life.

Authorities believe the attack was from Boko Haram, a radical group whose name means “Western education is sacrilege.”  This radical group has been behind a series of recent attacks on schools in the region, including one in which gunmen opened fire on children taking exams in a classroom.

The militants from Boko Haram, and other groups that have broken off from this radical group, have collectively killed more than 1,600 civilians in suicide bombings and other attacks since 2010, according to The Associated Press.

Soldiers state that they have killed and arrested hundreds of Boko Haram militants.  However, even with the fighter jets and helicopter gunships on these military camps, this has only driven the militants into rocky mountains with caves, in which they only emerge when they attack.

The militants have targeted civilians in these attacks, including health workers on vaccination campaigns, traders, teachers, and government workers.

Many believe that these attacks could have been prevented if their access to their mobile devices were not blocked.

“Lack of [Global System for Mobile Communications] service has prevented patriotic citizens who have hitherto been collaborating with security agents from reporting suspicious movements in their neighbourhoods,” said Mr. Gaidam in a statement to BBC news.

For further information, please see:

Today’s Zaman — 30 killed in school attack in northeast Nigeria — 7 July 2013

BBC News — Nigeria school massacre: Yobe secondary schools closed — 7 July 2013

Fox News — Nigerian state orders schools to close after massacre — 7 July 2013

The Independent — Nigerian terror group attack kills 29 children — 7 July 2013

Sky News — Islamic Militants Kill 30 In Nigeria School Attack — 6 July 2013

Russia Today — Nigeria school massacre: 41 children killed, some burned alive — 6 July 2013