Chad's former President Hissene Habre has been removed from the courtroom at his trial for crimes against humanity.
He shouted that the process was "a farce", as he was waiting for proceedings to begin.
The trial in Senegal's capital, Dakar, marks the first time one African country has prosecuted the former leader of another.
Mr Habre denies being responsible for hundreds of deaths during his rule from 1982 to 1990.
The trial follows a 25-year campaign to bring him to justice.
Mr Habre does not recognise the court and was brought there by prison guards.
Waiting
for the trial to open, the former Chadian leader shouted: "Down with
imperialists. [The trial] is a farce by rotten Senegalese politicians.
African traitors. Valet of America".
Mr Habre was taken out of the court-room and the trial began without him.
He
then refused to come in after the recess that followed the opening
statements, and now proceedings have been suspended while the court
waits for Mr Habre to be forced to return, the BBC's Thomas Fessy
reports from Dakar.
'Opportunity for Africa' - Laeila Adjovi, BBC Africa, Dakar
Media captionWho is Hissene Habre and what exactly is he accused of?
Victims of Hissene Habre's regime have waited 25 years to have this day in court.
Many
doubted that Mr Habre would even show up, as up to now he had refused
to cooperate with the court, but he did appear, albeit briefly,
surrounded by a dozen security guards.
Despite the scuffle that
took place inside the court-room as he was removed, the trial started on
time and the first 100 witnesses are in Dakar waiting to give evidence.
The African Union requested that Senegal establish this court so that Mr Habre would be tried "on behalf of Africa".
As
many see the International Criminal Court as unfairly pursuing African
leaders, this trial is a step towards creating grounds for credible
international justice in Africa.
This is a huge opportunity to show that Africa can hold its leaders to account. Battle to bring Habre to court Profile: Hissene Habre At
the end of his opening statement, prosecutor Mbacke Fall said that Mr
Habre's "silence will not be seen as a defence strategy" and will not
affect a fair trial.
Also addressing the court, victims' lawyer
Jacqueline Moudeina said that the trial "is in the name of humanity, a
humanity which Hissene Habre never allowed his victims".
Many of his alleged victims have been calling for the trial since his overthrow and exile in Senegal in 1990.
Mr Habre's alleged victims have been waiting for 25 years to see him on trial
A Chadian truth commission
found in 1992 that the Habre regime was responsible for 40,000 deaths
and disappearances, leading many to dub him Africa's Pinochet, after the
Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet.
In 2005 a court in
Belgium issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming universal jurisdiction
but, after Senegal referred the issue to the African Union, the AU
asked Senegal to try Mr Habre "on behalf of Africa".
Progress has been slow, as Senegal's previous President Abdoulaye Wade appeared to be reluctant to put him on trial.
He
first said the country lacked funding and then, apparently fed up with
the process, suggested that Mr Habre should be sent back to Chad where
he had already been sentenced to death.
President Macky Sall,
elected in 2012, agreed to a trial in a special tribunal set up within
the Senegalese court system, and in 2013 the African Extraordinary
Chambers was established with AU backing.
The court was set up to deal with crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990.
Mr Habre was indicted in 2013 but he refused to cooperate with the special court.
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