Arms Trade Treaty Campaign Briefing - Amnesty International

4© Private© Amnesty InternationalchadeNforced disappearaNceof oppositioN Leaderibni oUmar mahamat salehIbni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (above), leaderof the Chadian opposition Party for Freedomand Development, was arrested on 3February 2008 at his home in N’Djamenaby the Chadian security forces. Aneyewitness said:“The soldiers kept us at bay with theirweapons and four of them went andknocked on the door of the house. A littlewhile later, Ibni Oumar came out with thesoldiers. One of them fired in the directionof one of the people standing at the door,accusing him of being a liar because hehad said that he did not know Ibni Oumar.”The arrest of Ibni Oumar and three othermen occurred during a two-day offensiveon the Chadian capital of N’Djamena byopposition armed groups in early February2008. The government stated that thosearrested were suspected of supportingarmed opposition groups.Intense fighting raged in various parts ofN’Djamena on 2 and 3 February beforegovernment forces regained control andthe armed opposition retreated across theborder into Sudan. Hundreds of civilianswere killed or injured and many people werearbitrarily detained, tortured and forciblydisappeared. These attacks occurredin the context of mounting tension withneighbouring Sudan. Both governmentsaccused the other of supporting andproviding bases to armed oppositiongroups.There were numerous aerial attacks in thecity using military helicopters. Fragmentsfrom the weapons used in the offensive,and obtained by Amnesty International,were found to be from an air-launchedS-5M 57mm HE fragmentation rocket.These rockets are typically fired from rocketlaunchers carrying between four and 32rockets, mounted on military aircraft orattack helicopters. They are unguided, highexplosive weapons and should not be usedfor attacks near civilian populationsbecause of their inability to distinguishbetween military and civilian targets.On 27 February 2008, the Chadiangovernment announced the establishmentof a Commission of Inquiry to examinehuman rights violations committed duringthe N’Djamena offensive, including thefate of Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh. Apresidential decree passed on 23 May 2011established a follow-up committee on therecommendations of the Commission.Despite investigations and numerousinterviews, the Commission was unable toascertain what happened to Ibni OumarMahamat Saleh. His fate and whereaboutsremained unknown at the end of 2011.Amnesty International considers Ibni OumarMahamat Saleh to be a victim of enforceddisappearance by the Chadian securityforces. During the last two decades, theorganization has documented numerousdisappearances of Chadian oppositionfigures and other individuals, particularlyin April 2006 in N’Djamena and November2007 in the Dar Tama region, easternChad. The ready availability of arms in Chadresulting from the absence of an effectiveArms Trade Treaty has contributed toongoing violations of human rights there.amnesty international January 2012 index: aCt 30/001/2012