28/08/2019 – Chad’s justice minister has said a “special criminal court” handed jail terms to 243 rebels who crossed from Libya in February, before their incursion was halted by French air raids.
Out of “267 people who were arrested, 12 were sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison and 231 others to terms ranging from 10 to 15 years”, Djimet Arabi told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
Twenty-four minors who had been detained were released, the minister said.
The special court also handed down life sentences in absentia to nearly a dozen rebel leaders living outside Chad, including their chief Timan Erdimi, Arabi added.
The Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), an armed group opposed to Chadian President Idriss Deby, is based in the desert of southern Libya.
Libya Express
Sahel-Elite | Photo: Chadian troops. [AFP Photo]
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) 