Son of Chad Prez Probable Murder Victim

US-backed task force struggles to quell brutal surge

(NEWSER) - Ritual murders and kidnappings continue to haunt Uganda despite police efforts to battle the horrors, the Guardian reports. Often linked to organ trafficking and witch doctors, some 300 cases were reported last year, and only 18 taken to court. A US-backed task force started this year has failed to stem the tide. The current strain of healers, who market themselves by mass media, "is mainly attributed to increased unemployment and poverty," one activist says. More»

Dozens arrested in 40 murders; body parts used for witchcraft

(NEWSER) - Tanzania is trying seven people for murdering albinos and selling their body parts for use in witchcraft, the BBC reports. Dozens have been arrested in some 40 murders over the past year and a half, but so far no one has been convicted. Witch doctors sell “albino potions” for thousands of dollars, saying they bring good luck; some of their customers are believed to be top businessmen. More»

(NEWSER) - There’s a vampire resurgence in Chad, and no, it’s not because Twilight has swept the African country. Cost-conscious residents have resurrected a dish slyly known as “vampire”: cooked animal blood, the BBC reports. With global food prices soaring and meat increasingly expensive, traditional vampire is “actually an excellent source of nutrients, especially for children,” a local aidworker says. More»

Boys as young as 13 held captive by African nation's army

(NEWSER) - The UN has obtained access to 80 child soldiers, some as young as 13, who have been taken prisoner in Chad near the Sudanese region of Darfur. UNICEF says that the children were captured and paraded before television cameras after a battle in early May between the Chadian army and a rebel group. According to the BBC, both sides in the ongoing Chad conflict are using child soldiers. More»

Chad's president pardons aid workers

(NEWSER) - The six men imprisoned for kidnapping 103 Chadian children have been pardoned and freed from a French prison, reports the BBC. Convicted in Chad and sentenced to hard labor, the members of charity group Zoe's Ark had been transferred to a facility in France, and received a pardon from Chadian president Idriss Deby yesterday. More»