Chad's former ruler Hissene Habre has been granted two months leave from prison in Senegal, where he is serving life for crimes against humanity, the AFP news agency reports.

The prison is being used to hold new detainees in coronavirus quarantine, AFP reports.

Habre was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison at a landmark trial in Senegal. He was convicted of rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings during his rule from 1982 to 1990.

He denied accusations that he ordered the killing of 40,000 people during his rule.

It was the first time an African Union-backed court had tried a former ruler for human rights abuses.

AFP reports that his lawyer had requested 60 days leave for the ex-president because he was "particularly vulnerable" to coronavirus, according to the judge's order.

Habre will serve the temporary leave at his home in Ouakam, a district of Senegal's capital, Dakar, and to return to prison afterwards.