Transitional Government and International Support:
Habré continued to face armed opposition on various fronts, and was brutal in his repression of suspected opponents, massacring and torturing many during his rule. In the summer of 1983, Gouvernement d'Union Nationale de Transition (GUNT, National Union Transition Government) forces launched an offensive against government positions in northern and eastern Chad with Libyan support.
One-sided Withdrawl:
In response to Libya's direct intervention, French and Zairian forces intervened to defend Habré, pushing Libyan and rebel forces north of the 16th parallel. In September 1984, the French and the Libyan governments announced an agreement for the mutual withdrawal of their forces from Chad. By the end of the year, all French and Zairian troops were withdrawn. Libya did not honor the withdrawal accord, and its forces continued to occupy the northern third of Chad.
Conciliation:
Southern rebel commando groups ('Codos') in southern Chad were broken up by government massacres in 1984. In 1985 Habré briefly reconciled with some of his most powerful opponents, including the Front Démocratique du Tchad (FDT, Democratic Front of Chad) and the Comité d'Action et de Concertation du Conseil Démocratique Révolutionnaire (CAC-CDR, Coordinating Action Committee of the Democratic Revolutionary Council). Goukouni also began to rally toward Habré, and with his support Habré successfully expelled Libyan forces from most of Chadian territory.
Chad Regains the Aouzou Strip:
A cease-fire between Chad and Libya held from 1987 to 1988, and negotiations over the next several years led to the 1994 International Court of Justice decision granting Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou Strip, effectively ending Libyan occupation.
Idriss Déby Itno Fights for Control:
However, rivalry between Hadjerai, Zaghawa, and Gorane groups within the government grew in the late 1980s. In April 1989, Idriss Déby Itno, one of Habré's leading generals and a Zaghawa, defected and fled to Darfur in Sudan, from which he mounted a Zaghawa-supported series of attacks on Habré (a Gorane). In December 1990, with Libyan assistance and no opposition from French troops stationed in Chad, Déby’s forces marched on N’Djamena. After 3 months of provisional government, Déby’s Mouvement Patriotique de Salut (MPS, Patriotic Salvation Movement) approved a national charter with Déby as president.
Traumatic Early Presidency:
Idriss Déby Itno was made president of Chad on 2 December 1990. In the following 2 years, Déby faced at least two coup attempts. Government forces clashed violently with rebel forces – including the Mouvement pour la Démocratie et le Développement (MDD, Movement for Democracy and Development), Comite de Sursaut National pour la Paix et la Démocratie (CSNPD, National Revival Committee for Peace and Democracy), Front National Tchadien (FNT, Chadian National Front), and the Forces Armées Occidentales (FAO, Western Armed Forces) near Lake Chad and in southern regions of the country.
Futher Clashes with Government Troops:
Unrest continued, however, sparked in part by large-scale killings of civilians in southern Chad. The CSNPD, led by Kette Moise and other southern groups, entered into a peace agreement with government forces in 1994, which later broke down. Two new groups, the Forces Armées pour la République Fédérale (FARF, Armed Forces for a Federal Republic) led by former Kette ally Laokein Barde and the Front Démocratique pour le Renouveau (FDR, Democratic Front for Renewal), and a reformulated MDD clashed with government forces 1994-95.
Multi-Pary Elections:
Talks with political opponents in early 1996 did not go well, but Déby announced his intent to hold presidential elections in June. Déby won the country’s first multi-party presidential elections with support in the second round from opposition leader Kebzabo, defeating General Kamougue (leader of the 1975 coup against Tombalbaye). Déby’s MPS party won 63 of 125 seats in the January 1997 legislative elections. International observers noted numerous serious irregularities in presidential and legislative election proceedings.
Short Lived Peace:
By mid-1997 the government signed peace deals with FARF and the MDD leadership and succeeded in cutting off the groups from their rear bases in the Central African Republic and Cameroon. Agreements also were struck with other rebel groups, including the FNT, in October 1997. However, peace was short-lived, as FARF rebels clashed with government soldiers, finally surrendering to government forces in May 1998. Barde was killed in the fighting, as were hundreds of other southerners, most civilians.
Déby Wins a Second and Third Term:
From 1998 to 2003, Mouvement pour la Démocratie et la Justice au Tchad (MDJT, Movement for Justice and Democracy in Chad) rebels skirmished periodically with government troops in the Tibesti region, resulting in hundreds of civilian, government, and rebel casualties, but little ground won or lost. Following an accord with the government in 2003, several hundred rebels rejoined the Chadian Army. Armed remnants of the MDJT linger in the Tibesti region, but no active armed opposition has emerged in other parts of Chad.
In May 2001, Déby won a flawed 63% first-round victory in presidential elections after legislative elections were postponed until spring 2002. Six opposition leaders were arrested (twice), and one opposition party activist was killed following the announcement of election results. However, despite claims of government corruption, favoritism of Zaghawas, and security forces abuses, opposition party and labor union calls for general strikes and more active demonstrations against the government were unsuccessful.
In May 2004, the National Assembly voted in favor of an amendment to the Constitution that would allow President Déby to run again. The amendment was approved in a national referendum June 2005 and abolished presidential term limits. In April 2006, the capital city of N’djamena was attacked by the Front Uni pour le Changement Démocratique (FUCD, United Front for Democratic Change) – which was led by the Tama ethnic group – coordinating with another Chadian rebel organization from President Déby’s Zaghawa ethnic group. The government put down the attacks. On 3 May 2006 Déby was elected to his third presidential term with a substantial majority, according to Chadian election officials.
Previous: A Brief History of Chad - Part 1
(Text from Public Domain material, US Department of State Background Notes.)
