3 top security officials under former dictator arrested in Chad, charged with torture

DAKAR, Senegal – Chad's chief prosecutor says three top officials under former dictator Hissene Habre have been arrested and charged with torture.

The arrests come days after Habre himself was taken into custody into Senegal, where he had lived freely for more than two decades.

Ousmane Mamadou Affono said the men arrested in Chad included two directors of Habre's political police force, which allegedly killed thousands during Habre's eight-year rule that ended in 1990.

Habre now faces trial at a special court in Senegal. One of the men arrested in Chad, Saleh Younous, has been named a suspect by the court in Senegal. Affono said the idea of transferring Younous to Dakar would need to be "examined."

Chad's government declared Friday a holiday to honor Habre's arrest, Affono said.