Background

Chad, a former French colony has seen significant upheaval and ethnic tensions since its independence in 1960. Chad has been dominated by a series of authoritarian regimes successively over thrown by other authoritarian regimes, beginning with the overthrow of Chad’s first president François Tombalbaye in 1975. A military government was set up, which ruled the country until 1978. This government was unable to hold on to the popularity that had allowed it to gain power. Eventually the leader of the military government, General Malloum, had to ally himself with the insurgent leader, Hissene Habre, in order to stay in power. Malloum made Habre Prime Minister. This alliance ended in 1979 when Habre and his insurgents attacked the Chadian army, beginning a four year civil war. Hissene Habre took over power in 1982, repressing all opposition. Idriss Deby, the current Chadian president, was one of Habre’s leading generals until 1990 when he left the army. Deby fled to Sudan where he gathered a Zaghawan force which he used to oust Habre.

Roots of Conflict in the East

Deep-rooted inter-ethnic competition over land and natural resources has historically fueled conflict in eastern Chad. In this already volatile environment, political conflicts further escalated tensions between groups as Sudanese-Chadian relations began to deteriorate in 2005 and spurred a cycle of "proxy violence." This began as Chadian army troops left the military with their equipment and joined rebel movements both in Chad and Darfur, Sudan. As rebellion against the Zaghawan regime mounted, a dizzying number of rebel groups began to form, largely along ethnic lines. The government of Sudan, wary of Chadian support for rebel groups in Darfur, began providing weapons and ammunitions to a number of the newly emerging Chadian rebel groups.

In February 2006, Chad and Sudan signed the Tripoli Agreement under which both sides agreed to stop supporting armed opposition against the other country. Unfortunately, the agreement has not been implemented effectively.

In April 2006, a number of Chadian rebel groups, under the banner of the United Front for Change, laid siege to the capital of Chad, N'Djamena. The rebel groups were forced back with assistance from the French military. The following day, President Idriss Deby severed relations with the government of Sudan. Though diplomatic relations were restored in August 2006, the political tension between the two countries continues, once again fueling proxy violence. Under the influence of Sudanese insurgent groups, Chadian rebel groups continued to break down into a number of additional factions, further complicating the conflict.

Current Situation

Though a number of rebel groups have signed ceasefires with the Chadian government, violence still continues in eastern Chad today. Civilians are being targeted by the Chadian military, Chadian insurgent groups, and Sudanese militias. Additional inter-ethnic violence also adds another layer to this complex conflict.

European foreign ministers launched a 3,500-strong peacekeeping force called MINURCAT on Jan. 28, 2008 and rebel militias have been on the offensive threatening to attack the incoming peacekeepers. On Jan. 30, rebel groups took control of the town of Oum Hadjer and were advancing towards N'Djamena, the country's capital. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has had to withdraw its staff in eastern Chad due to the recent increase in violence.

In February 2008 rebels and opposition forces attacked N’Djamena. The Chadian army fought back forcing out the rebels. The UN estimated that hundreds were killed and nearly 20,000 people fled the capital.

Rebels went on the offensive again in June, temporarily capturing several eastern towns before being pushed back by government forces. The rebels have vowed to continue their fight until they are able to negotiate with Deby. During this fighting, peacekeepers were caught in the crossfire, but carried out their mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian workers.