Chad's minister of communication, Moktar Wawa Dahab, denied a recent report by Amnesty International in which the human rights organisation accused the government of perpetuating human rights violations begun under the regime of ex-president Hissene Habre.

Floods caused by heavy rains have affected over 350,000 people in two West African nations, prompting their governments to call for international help.

Some 129,500 people have been affected by floods in Chad, and 100 are reported dead or missing, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report dated 11 September.

Secretary Genderal of the Chadian Red Cross, Andreas Koume, reported a new outbreak of cholera in Gitte 112 km of the Capital during the last week of August. 150 cases had been recorded in the Chadian town,the Red Cross had sent out teams to chlorinate wells, and advise the population on personal and public hygiene. The outbreak was firsts recorded in June, but has not been recored as an epidemic in some areas.

UNHCR completed on Monday the voluntary repatriation from Cameroon of 288 Chadians who had fled civil war in their country in the early 1980s.