There are no main images NEWS AFRICA French aid workers on kidnap charge An orphanage in Abeche has been caring for the
103 children that were to be flown to France [AFP] Chad has charged six French charity workers from Zoe's Ark and three journalists with kidnapping after attempting to fly more than 100 children to France, according to prosecutors.
Seven Spanish crew from the aeroplane that was to have flown the children out of the country and two Chadians were also charged with complicity on Tuesday. The French citizens were accused of "kidnapping of minors with the aim of compromising their civil status" and "swindling," an official in the eastern town of Abeche told the AFP news agency.
Ahmat Bachir, Chad's interior minister, said that if found guilty the charity workers would face up to 20 years in jail with hard labour.
A judicial source said they would be transferred to the capital N'Djamena "for reasons of security" and because Abeche had no proper court.
Adoption
The charity workers have said that the children were 103 orphans from Sudan's war-torn Darfur province.
But the UN children's agency said after interviewing the children that most appeared to be Chadian and there was no evidence they were orphans.
"They wanted to do things differently, that doesn't mean they wanted
to do it dishonestly"
Gilbert Collard, lawyer for Zoe's Ark The children, aged one to 10, were reportedly to be adopted or fostered by families who each paid up to $8,600, allegedly to cover evacuation costs.
They are currently being cared for at an orphanage in Abeche.
Idriss Deby, Chad's president, has promised "severe punishment" for what he has described as a "kidnapping" or "child trafficking".
He suggested that the group planned to sell the children to paedophiles or "kill them and remove their organs".
"These people ... treat us like animals. So this is the image of the saviour Europe, which gives lessons to our countries. This is the image of Europe which helps Africans," the official website of Chad's presidency quoted Deby as saying.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, telephoned Deby on Sunday to denounce the planned airlift as "illegal and unacceptable".
'Rescue' operation
Zoe's Ark has insisted that it mounted the "Children Rescue" operation in good faith, hoping to take a group of orphans away from Darfuri refugee camps in Chad to a better life in France.
It says it was given statements from tribal leaders that the children were orphans with no known relatives, and that the Chadian and French authorities had full knowledge of their activities.
Charity workers from Zoe's Ark say that they
were taking the children to a better life [AFP] "We are dealing with humanitarian hardliners who walked off the beaten track," Gilbert Collard, a lawyer for Zoe's Ark, said in the southern French city of Marseille.
"They wanted to do things differently, that doesn't mean they wanted to do it dishonestly."
However, the French news agency CAPA released footage of interviews with members of Zoe's Ark in which one person said they could never be completely sure the children were orphans in need of help.
"We tried to verify as much as possible. We can never be sure, of course. We cannot be sure about this information," said one unidentified man who was among those arrested.
The 16 Europeans were arrested on Thursday just before the flight was due to take off from the town, 700km east of the capital N'Djamena.Ahmat Bachir, Chad's interior minister, said that if found guilty the charity workers would face up to 20 years in jail with hard labour.A judicial source said they would be transferred to the capital N'Djamena "for reasons of security" and because Abeche had no proper court.The charity workers have said that the children were 103 orphans from Sudan's war-torn Darfur province.But the UN children's agency said after interviewing the children that most appeared to be Chadian and there was no evidence they were orphans.The children, aged one to 10, were reportedly to be adopted or fostered by families who each paid up to $8,600, allegedly to cover evacuation costs.They are currently being cared for at an orphanage in Abeche.Idriss Deby, Chad's president, has promised "severe punishment" for what he has described as a "kidnapping" or "child trafficking".He suggested that the group planned to sell the children to paedophiles or "kill them and remove their organs"."These people ... treat us like animals. So this is the image of the saviour Europe, which gives lessons to our countries. This is the image of Europe which helps Africans," the official website of Chad's presidency quoted Deby as saying.Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, telephoned Deby on Sunday to denounce the planned airlift as "illegal and unacceptable".Zoe's Ark has insisted that it mounted the "Children Rescue" operation in good faith, hoping to take a group of orphans away from Darfuri refugee camps in Chad to a better life in France.It says it was given statements from tribal leaders that the children were orphans with no known relatives, and that the Chadian and French authorities had full knowledge of their activities."We are dealing with humanitarian hardliners who walked off the beaten track," Gilbert Collard, a lawyer for Zoe's Ark, said in the southern French city of Marseille."They wanted to do things differently, that doesn't mean they wanted to do it dishonestly."However, the French news agency CAPA released footage of interviews with members of Zoe's Ark in which one person said they could never be completely sure the children were orphans in need of help."We tried to verify as much as possible. We can never be sure, of course. We cannot be sure about this information," said one unidentified man who was among those arrested. A reporter for French news agency CAPA was among the French nationals arrested.
The French government has said it warned Zoe's Ark months ago that it risked breaking the law if it carried out the operation. Source: Agencies Related: Charity accused of smuggling minors
(28 Oct 2007) Chad angry at 'child smuggling'
(26 Oct 2007) Tools: Email article Print article Send your feedback Top news Israel threatens Gaza invasion Mosul dam in danger of collapse Al-Hariri claims plot to kill him Deadly blast near Pakistan army HQ Iraq law to close security loophole AFRICA news Korean vessel attacked off Somalia Darfur peace talks falter Somali prime minister resigns DR Congo militia leader surrenders Kenya fixes election date
Camp de réfugiés du Darfour au Tchad. 
Neuf citoyens français, qui ont été arrêté après avoir été interpelés alors qu'ils essayaient de quitter le pays par avion en emmenant une centaine d'enfants du pays, feront face à des accusations d'enlèvement, ont indiqué les autorités tchadiennes. Sept citoyens espagnols, qui constituait l'équipage de l'avion, sont eux accusés de complicité d'enlèvement. Deux citoyens canadiens sont aussi accusés.

Six des Français, membres d'une organisation caritative appelée , ont dit qu'ils essayaient de porter secours aux enfants de la crise humanitaire due au conflit du Darfour. Les trois autres sont des journalistes, qui couvraient le . Le procureur d'Abéché, Ahmat Daoud, a indiqué : . Ils pourraient être condamnés à 20 ans de travaux forcés si ils étaient reconnus coupables.

L' a présenté les enfants comme des orphelins et indiqué qu'ils pourraient mener une vie meilleure en Europe. , a déclaré leur porte-parole, Christophe Letien, lors d'une conférence de presse.  Cependant, l'agence de presse française CAPA a publié une interview dans laquelle un membre de l' indique qu'ils ne peuvent être complètement sûr que les enfants soient des orphelins nécessitant de l'aide.

Selon Annette Rehrl, porte-parole du Haut Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés, peu d'enfants s'avèrent être réellement orphelins. , a déclaré Annette Rehrl.

Les autorités françaises ont indiqué avoir prévenu le groupe de ne pas effectuer cette opération depuis des mois. Les responsables de l' en France ont cherché à savoir si le groupe enfreignait les lois françaises sur l'adoption en promettant aux familles qu'elles pourraient adopter et non seulement héberger les enfants.

Le Président tchadien, Idriss Déby, a déclaré que c'était une affaire d'. Il a également suggéré que l' pourrait avoir servi de fournisseur à des réseaux pédophiles ou de les utiliser comme donneurs pour les transplantations d'organes.

L'Union européenne est sur le point de déployer une force de maintien de la paix, incluant des soldats français, le long de la frontière entre le Tchad et le Soudan. Idriss Déby a assuré à son homologue français, Nicolas Sarkozy, qu'il ne tenterait pas de bloquer les troupes de l'Union européenne.