No plans to extradite ex-CAR military boss, official says

Chad's government does not plan to extradite the former military chief of the Central African Republic (CAR), who fled to Chad on Friday after several days of fighting in the CAR capital Bangui, Chadian government spokesman Moukhatar Wawa Dahab told IRIN on Monday. The man, General Francois Bozize, has been living in Sahr, near the Chad-CAR border, with an unspecified number of men, Wawa Dahab said. "He is not in prison, nor is he in a hole," he added.

Chad has based its decision not to hand over Bozize on Article 46 of its constitution, which forbids the extradition of political refugees, although the former military chief is technically not a refugee, according to Wawa Dahab. He said the Chadian authorities were willing to let the group stay in Chad until a positive outcome was reached. There are negotiations and talks "at the highest level, between President Deby [Chad] and President (Felix Ange) Patasse [CAR]", the spokesman added. For the time being, he said, Chad's main priority was the protection of Bozize and his group, Wawa Dahad said.

Bozize, accused of participating in a failed coup attempt in late May, was relieved of his duties as chief of staff of the armed forces on 26 October. The commission investigating the attempted coup issued a warrant for his arrest on 2 November and, one day later, fighting broke out in Bangui between government troops and those loyal to the former armed forces chief of staff.

CAR's government has accused former president Andre Kolingba of being behind the aborted coup, which sparked days of fighting in which many people died and thousands were displaced.