Chapters › Independence to today · Chad & Central Sahara
French Chad → Republic of Chad
1900 CE – present
Approximate area of control
Research in progress No sourced map of this era's territory yet, so no area is drawn.
Key events
- Independence 1960
- Hosts Sudanese refugees from 2003 and 2023
Capitals / sites
N'Djamena
Geopolitics
Chad's conflicts spill directly into Darfur. In the 1980s western Darfur was a battleground between Hissène Habré's troops and Libyan-backed rebels under Idriss Déby, a Zaghawa supported by Darfur's Zaghawa; in May 1990 Chadian soldiers entered al-Fashir; Déby's MPS armed Zaghawa and Arab militias who turned on the Fur; after Déby took power in Dec 1990 he closed the SPLM office (LOC1991_CHAD). After years of proxy war, the 15 Jan 2010 N'Djamena Agreement committed each side to end support for the other's rebels by 21 Feb 2010 and created a frontier-security protocol (NDJAMENA2010) [VERIFY]; a 3,000-strong joint border force deployed under joint command at El Geneina, then Abéché; Déby visited Khartoum on 8–9 Feb 2010, the first such visit since 2004, and helped negotiate the Feb 2010 Doha framework with JEM (UNSC_S2010_217) [VERIFY]. In the 2023 war Chad is described as aligned more closely with the RSF and as having allegedly let the UAE ship arms into Sudan from its territory (ICG_B204) [VERIFY; allegation], while hosting a major refugee influx: Chad prepared for at least 120,000 more Sudanese after the RSF took El Fasher (GEO-079); see also GEO-037, GEO-038. French colonial phase not covered by a read source [thin].
Culture
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Economy
On 10 Apr 2010 the Chad–Sudan border reopened at three points for the first time since 2003 and cross-border trade resumed (UNSC_S2010_217) [SINGLE-SOURCE; VERIFY].
Regional power
Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.
Open data flags
- culture_dominance: no source-backed text yet
- regional_power: no actors scored
- UAE arms via Chad: allegation reported by ICG – contested, VERIFY
- French colonial phase 1900–1960 thin
Sources
- U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division (H.C. Metz ed.) Sudan: A Country Study – 'Chad' U.S. Library of Congress (US government; dated) link [en]
- Governments of Chad and Sudan (signed M. Faki Mahamat; G. Salahaddin Atabani) Accord de N'Djamena sur la normalisation des relations entre le Tchad et le Soudan (15 janvier 2010) UN Peacemaker / PA-X Peace Agreements Database (Univ. of Edinburgh) link [en]
- UN Secretary-General Report of the Secretary-General on MINURCAT, S/2010/217 United Nations Security Council (via securitycouncilreport.org) link [en]
- International Crisis Group Sudan's Calamitous War: Finding a Path toward Peace (Africa Briefing N°204) International Crisis Group (independent conflict-prevention NGO) link [en]
- A.A. Abdussalam & F.S. Abusedra (Part II) (1985) The colonial economy: North Africa (General History of Africa VII, ch.17) UNESCO link [en]
- A.A. Mazrui (ed.) General History of Africa VIII: Africa since 1935 – Sudan passages ('North Africa and the Horn', pp.148–150; economy and political-succession passages) UNESCO link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Chad Wikipedia link [en]