The President of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, has pardoned the six French aid workers convicted of abducting 103 youngsters for adoption by Europeans.
The workers were immediately released from a French prison where they were to have served eight years. Deby’s surprise about-face on the French workers is believed by some to be tied to military aid he received from France to squash an insurgent uprising which has been demanding his removal. But rebels have stepped up their anti-government clashes in the eastern Ade region.
The National Alliance, the main rebel group, allegedly crossed over from Sudan, violating a recent peace accord between the two countries. Chad’s Defence Ministry called on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Senegal, sponsors of last month’s peace deal, to “assume their responsibilities to stop any aggression that could have unpredictable consequences.”
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