Chad child-trafficking claim

Last Modified: 29 Oct 2007
By: Channel 4 News

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has condemned as illegal a charity's attempt to move more than 100 children out of Chad.

The charity Zoe's Ark said it had found host families for the children, who it said were from Darfur. But the group has been accused of child trafficking.

Nine French nationals and seven Spaniards are being now being held by the authorities at Abeche in Chad, close to its border with Darfur.

Whether orphans desperate for help or children snatched from their families, the children in question are now being cared for by aid workers while authorities try and work out exactly where they have come from.

The charity that was planning to take them to France claims they are orphans from Darfur.

The children are being cared for by aid workers while authorities try and work out where they have come from.

Chad's president, on a visit to see the children, accused the charity of kidnapping and child trafficking.

And the head of Unicef has said it appears many of the children are actually from Chad.

The plane chartered to fly the 103 children to Paris remains on the tarmac in Africa, the crew held alongside the charity workers.

Nine French chairty workers and their Spanish airline crew are being held on suspicion of kidnapping. The French government has joined the condemnation of the planned flight.

The website of Zoe's Ark, the charity at the centre of this investigation, shows images of the destruction in Darfur.

It has also said the children needed medical help abroad, even though they appear to be in good health.

Other aid agencies have condemned the idea of taking needy chidren overseas.

Trying to find where all these children came from will take time. But the Chadian government is determined to press charges quickly. Criminal proceedings could begin later today.

Accompanying report by Keith Breene