Chad warned over military aircraft misuse

Switzerland has asked for "official reassurance" from Chad that an incident involving the illegal use of a Swiss military aircraft will not be repeated.

Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey made the appeal during an official visit to Switzerland by her counterpart Ahmat Allam-Mi on Wednesday.

Switzerland had considered imposing sanctions against the country after discovering the Pilatus PC-9 aircraft – exported for training purposes – had been armed and used in military operations. This had contravened the export rules, and future use had to be in “strict conformance” with regulations, Calmy-Rey said.

The foreign minister also called on the Chad government to do “everything possible” to find opposition coalition spokesman Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, who has gone missing from the country in unclear circumstances.

She said that Switzerland expected the Chad authorities to release political opponents as soon as possible if no criminal charges would be brought against them.

The ministers agreed Switzerland would continue to cooperate with Chad in the fields of development and humanitarian aid, and support Chad’s efforts to accommodate 250,000 refugees from Darfur.