Chadian former dictator Hissene Habre was led by force into the dock on Monday as his trial began in Senegal for atrocities committed during his brutal eight-year rule, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Dressed in white robes and a turban, the 72-year-old raised a fist and cried "God is greatest" as he was escorted by prison guards into the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar.