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Essay Subject: Examines geopolitical effects & implications of 1972-1988 occupation of Aozou strip. Historical origins of strife in Chad; civil wars. Libya's strategic & religious interests. French aid.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines geopolitical effects & implications of 1972-1988 occupation of Aozou strip. Historical origins of strife in Chad; civil wars. Libya's strategic & religious interests. French aid. Paper Introduction: LIBYAN INTERVENTION IN CHAD This research paper examines the geopolitical effects and implications of the intervention by Libya in Chad in the 1970s and 1980s and its occupation of the Aozou strip. Between 1965 and 1988, ethnic and religious strife and accompanying internecine internal struggles led to the collapse of the post-colonial order in Chad and created a power vacuum in this central trans-Sahara region. This eventually led to the involvement of Libya in the affairs of Chad in furtherance of the strategic and other foreign policy aims of the radical revolutionary but oil-rich regime in Libya led by the mercurial Colonel Moammar Qaddafi. Libyan support for dissident Chadian warlords and competing factions rapidly grew into more overt and massive intervention by Libya, including its seizure of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Mitterrand reportedly said: "if Niger and the Cameroonscrack, that's the end of French influence in Africa" (233). Chad and Libyahave composed their differences, at least temporarily, over the Aozoustrip. Under these arrangements,Martin said "France managed to institutionalize its political, economic,monetary, and cultural preeminence over its former African colonies, whichthereby remained excessively dependent on France" (167). It also resented Americaninterference in what it regarded as its exclusive foreign policy domain. Economically, the entire regionhas been marginalized by globalization of the world economy. According to Simons, "many countries-among them Egypt, Sudan,Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Lebanon, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali,Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines-have at one time oranother accused Gaddafi of supporting dissident or subversive groups intheir countries" (264). 1965-1979), who was deposed by theCAR military with French connivance while he was Qaddafi's guest in Libya,and his successor in the 196 s through the 198 s, David Dacko, and Ange-Felix Patasse in the 199 s. Nigeria. Nigerhas been a one party state since independence. On November 3 Habre fled the country. Sequel, Further Analysis and Post-Cold War Implications The internal affairs of Chad have remained unstable since 1988. In Algiers in 1989, Chad and Libyaagreed to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ifthey could not negotiate a settlement within one year. In August 1987Chadian forces briefly took the town of Aozou but three weeks later theywere ejected by Libyan forces. Most of Qaddafi's largesse went to Africannations "with dominant or large Muslim majorities," such as Uganda, Zaire,the Central African Republic, Gabon, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone andTogo (St. Corruption has been rampant. Although French rule was never popular in Chad, thesouthern black Sara peoples who have traditionally been sedentary,agricultural and predominantly non-Muslim (either Christian or animistic inbelief) received most of the benefits of French rule in terms of education,social services and infrastructure. The leaders of FROLINAT remained in opposition. Serious international conflicts involving Chad diminished in thepost-Cold War period, due in part to changes in Qaddafi's approach to hissouthern neighbors, which finally resulted in Libya's withdrawal from theAozou strip in 1994. The principal burden of containing the Libyans and restoring ameasure of stability in Chad fell on France, which intervenedintermittently there. Today, the United States does not see any direct vital interest inthe area and is quite content to let France or the United Nations carry theburden of protecting against regime breakdowns such as occurred in Chad andhas intervened only once militarily in Africa in the 199 s, in ProjectRestore Hope in Somalia which quickly turned into a disaster. According to Collelo, "Habreassailed Sudan for allowing Libyan troops to be stationed along Chad'sborder and for continuing to allow assaults on Chadian territory fromSudan" (163). Five hundredpersons died in November 1965 when riots erupted against tax collectionabuses and governmental mismanagement in the central Guera Prefecture andquickly spread to the east and north. This eventually led to the involvement of Libya in the affairs ofChad in furtherance of the strategic and other foreign policy aims of theradical revolutionary but oil-rich regime in Libya led by the mercurialColonel Moammar Qaddafi. Libyan Intervention in Chad (1972-1982) Libya had strategic and religious interests in the northern borderregion of Chad which led it to extend assistance to Chadian dissidents verygingerly at first under the conservative regime of King Idris in the late196 s and to involve itself much more forcefully in Chad under Qaddafiduring the 197 s and early 198 s. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa. His primary foreign policy aims were the achievement of Pan-Arabic unity, which he pursued without success with various Arab nations inNorth Africa and the Middle East, and the liberation of Palestine, whichreceived another great setback when Israel prevailed in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. wasminimal. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1982.----------------------- 33 Libya. Collelo said in the 198 s "Cameroon's government urged France toincrease assistance to stem Libyan advances because officials feared directconfrontation with Libyan troops and the influx of weapons and refugeesfrom Chad" (164). According to Simons, "the country thenenjoyed two years of peace, during which time the French and the US werebuilding up Habre's forces and the Libyans were constructing roads andairbases in southern Libya and northern Chad" (275). Their Muslim populationsvary. Various African powers, including Libya andNigeria, will vie for influence in the region, but it is likely to remainfragmented and preoccupied with internal conflicts, border disputes,political turmoil and daunting economic and social problems for theforeseeable future. . The Libyan interventions in Chad destabilized the trans-Sahararegion geopolitically, especially with respect to the small and weak stateson Chad's borders, who appealed to the West for assistance. On February 3, 1994the ICJ ruled in favor of Chad. 1998: 16-17."Qaddafi says farewell, Arabs, and sets his sights on Africa." Economist, 24 Apr. Its GDP per capita in 1996 was $16 , "one of the lowest . . Conclusion The continuing conflict and chaos in Chad eventually destabilizedthat nation to the point where Qaddafi's Libya was prepared to riskconfrontation with powers stronger than itself and in the process bedefeated. With Libya's coffers overflowing withoil revenues produced by the high crude oil prices of the late 197 s and198 s, Qaddafi acquired after 1973 a formidable arsenal of Soviet militaryequipment, valued at $2 billion, which included modern tanks and otherarmored vehicles, artillery and multiple rocket-launchers and mortars, anti-aircraft weapons including SAM missiles, helicopters, and modern jetfighters and bombers as well as Soviet military advisers. The growing chaos in Chad was, however, too tempting an opportunityfor him to ignore for long. Then, on September 1,1969, the monarchy was overthrown in a coup d'etat by a group of young armyofficers led by Qaddafi. Tombalbaye's regime became even more repressive in 1973-1974 andxenophobic as he introduced anti-foreign measures which he called'Chatitude.' He succeeded in alienating just about every group in Chadiansociety as well as the French. LIBYAN INTERVENTION IN CHAD This research paper examines the geopolitical effects andimplications of the intervention by Libya in Chad in the 197 s and 198 sand its occupation of the Aozou strip. 814-831."Chad." Europa World Year Book 1999 Volume I. . During its civil war in the196 s, massacres of many Christians occurred in Kano and other northernNigerian cities. Their per capitalGNPs are in the low hundreds compared with Libya's $6,26 in 1986 (Metzxvii). Further incidents, including the downing that month of aFrench jet by a Libyan missile, then led to further French reinforcementsand a Chadian French-support push north to the 16th parallel. . chronic infrastructuraldeficiencies. Accordingto Collelo, "immigrants, Arabic-speaking or otherwise, played a significantrole, along with Islam, in the formation and early evolution of" Chadianstates, the most important of which were the Kanem and Kanem-Borno Empires(9th-18th centuries) in central and western Chad, the Bagrimi kingdom tothe southeast and the Wadai kingdom in the east (16th to 19th centuries)(5). Zaire and Senegal actively applied pressure onFrance to intervene more forcefully in Chad in the 198 s. No one power appears likelyto achieve hegemony there. 1993: 42.Mortimer, Edward. Libya The Struggle for Survival. Nigeria has its owndelicate ethnic balance, having 43 million Muslims, most of whom are in thenorth, 3 million Christians and 15 million animists or believers intraditional African religions (A Survey N12). . Goukouni, who had signed a militarycooperation treaty with Libya in October, and Qaddafi announced in January1981 that Chad and Libya would soon be merged. Qaddafi approached the sub-Saharan states with a combination ofthreats and bribes in the form of money, an estimated $5 million between1973 and 1979, to help them solve their oil import crisis of the mid-197 sand threats (St. Using this as a pretext, Qaddafi sent his troops intothe Aozou strip where they were to remain for the next 21 years. During the mid-198 s, Sudan becameconcerned about the spill over of violence in Chad onto Sudan's remotewestern Darfur regions, where various rebel factions fled, regrouped andrearmed there. Libya A Country Study. Chad, which was almost bereft of strategicraw materials of any significance to France, unlike many other formercolonies in FSSA, was, nevertheless, seen as a domino in the web ofinterlocking French interests in that part of Africa, which was seen as"important to France's claim to be a global power" (381). All these states were headed by tribal warrior-chieftains. It was dominated by themore populous southern (Sara) interests. Pre-colonial history. France and theUnited States, reluctant partners in an area France considers its specialpreserve, cooperated sufficiently to restore a semblance of order andstability to the region which no single power appears likely to dominate inthe foreseeable future. Through ECOMOG, a regional offshoot ofECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States-1975), West Africanstates under Nigerian leadership have helped quell disorder recently inLiberia and Sierra Leone. .. . Post-Cold War Implications of the Crises in Chad Since 1988, civil unrest in Chad has abated somewhat. . many years ofconflict . Still, it is unlikely thatFrance will be able to turn its back on serious threats to the politicalstability or military status quo in the region in part because "the oldinstincts linger on," but also because no other nation is better suited orlikely to replace France as the 'gendarme of the West' in the region(Mitterrand's 42). The Darfur became the home of the Islamic Legion after itwas pushed out of Chad (Bandit 38-39). put it, "Chad would hardly appear to beworth all the commotion it has caused" (345). Frenchtroops occupied Fezzan in 1943 and remained there after the Second WorldWar. Collelo said, "theoffensive . Public finances are in anappalling state. Chad remains among the world's least developed countries,with severely inadequate levels of education and health care" and theaverage life expectancy in 1995 was only 47.5 years (Chad 891-892). Geopolitical interests and effects. Its dominant coalition, theNational Movement for a Developed Society-MNSD Nassara "has a reputation ofhostility to the Tuaregs" (Niger's 6). In the immediate postwar period, Chad was organizedpolitically as a Gaullist stronghold, its nominal representation interritorial assemblies being the elected members of the Chadian DemocraticUnion (Union Democratique Tchadienne-UDT) who were, according to Mortimer,"Europeans, chiefs, sultans, and nobles" (14 ). In 1955, Libyan motorized unitscrossed the Chadian border and were repulsed by French troops. Despitelater assaults by supporters of Habre, coup attempts against the Debyregime and continuing political unrest, it survived, somewhat broadened itscomposition. In anyevent, the Libyan retreat pulled the rug out from under the Goukouni regimewhich soon found itself enmeshed in a new civil war, this time with renewedassaults from Habre's reconstituted forces which received Sudanese,Egyptian and American military assistance (Collelo 3 ). What are the geopolitical implicationsof such developments for the principal states in the region and the West? Throughout the region,"economic growth rates per capita during the 197 s and 198 s, with a fewexceptions, were stagnant, if not negative" (6). Boulder: Westview P, 1995.csSt. All of Chad'sneighbors were destabilized by the strife in Chad. What was more alarming were Libyanactions throughout the sub-Sahara region and elsewhere which seemeddirected at subverting by force any governments, Muslim or non-Muslim,which retained close ties with the West, which were more conservative thanLibya's regime or which otherwise thwarted Qaddafi's will. El-Khawas said "the fall of Faya Largeau was a turning pointin French involvement in the Chadian civil war" (172). Sudan. As theEconomist put it, "it would look more convincing [as a regional guardianangel] if its own military government had not made such a mess of things athome" (Nigeria 17). Cameroon is relatively well off compared with some of itsneighbors, largely due to rising oil revenues (GNP per capita in 1996 $61 ,positive balance of payments, a good international credit rating and lifeexpectancy of 56 years) (Cameroon 818). Regional African Initiatives. The desertification of the Sahararegion forced many ethnic groups south including the nomadic Toubou or Tebugroup, which is of mixed Caucasian-Berber origin and formed the firstChadian confederation in the 9th century AD. Mitterrand overcamehis reluctance to become involved because, according Fried, "southern Chadwas too close to other African countries, and Paris finally concluded thatthe Chad 'domino' must not fall totally into the Libyan sphere ofinfluence" (233). Despite some indications to the contrary, Francewill continue to play a major role in containing local conflicts andpromoting internal stability. To maintain himself in power, he relied primarily on asmall French expeditionary force. Finally, France and Libya agreed in September 1984 to a mutualwithdrawal of forces. Niger's population is 95 percent Muslim (Niger 2653). Nevertheless, it, too, underwenteconomic hardship as a result of the 5 percent devaluation of the CFAfranc in 1994 and is passing through a transition from one man rule underPresident Ahmadou Ahidjo (196 -1982) and his handpicked successor, PaulBiya, a Catholic (1982-present, elected 1992). DeGaulle and his successors, Georges Pompidouand Valery Giscard d'Estaing, pursued a policy of real politik in theregion, which entailed supporting a generation of "francophone elites [whobecame] accustomed to . Economic growth substantially declinedthroughout the years of the civil wars and by an average of 1.7 percent perannum 199 -1996. He formed outright alliances with some regimes such asthat of the dictator Idi Amin in Uganda and strove for closer relationswith the Islamic government of Sudan and a number of francophone nations.At the same time, he supported subversive movements pledged to thedestruction of the governments in many of those states. On April 4, 1994, Chad and Libya agreedthat Libya would withdraw its forces from the Aozou strip by the end ofMay, which was done (Chad-Libya 7). Recently Islamic fundamentalism has increased in thewestern province of Zanfara and since the 198 s "Nigerian apprehension ofLibyan infiltration through Chad" (Islamist 48; and Collelo 162). The father fled into exilein Libya and his son took up arms against the government. Habre split finallywith Goukouni in 1976 and in 1978 joined the government as Prime Ministerunder Malloum. In this context, Chad's neighbors, and many otherAfrican countries, particularly the Francophone members of FSSA, werealarmed by the proposed merger of Chad and Libya in 1981. The post-1989 radical Islamic regime in Sudan and Libya haveenjoyed more cordial relations and discussed a possible merger in the early199 s which the Sudanese army and Egypt oppose. Chad A Country Study. Final Libyan Intervention and Defeat (1983-1988) Libya's overt use of force to extend its influence in Chad and itscontrol over Chadian territory produced in the mid to late 198 s a negativecounter-reaction from many African states and a decisive military responsefrom the West which checkmated for the time being Qaddaffi's imperialambitions in the region. The Toubous wereforbidden to wear turbans or to carry knives. Sudan's relations with Libya have fluctuated. According toSimons, "Gadhafi . The French urged Tombalbaye to make somereforms to pacify the population, but he took mostly token measures, suchas restoring the judicial functions of some conservative sultans, freeingsome political prisoners and in 1971 including more Muslims and northernersin the government. The fundamentalproblem is that the states in the region are too weak, small, poor anddivided to look after their own defense. In December 198 , seven thousand Libyan troops,supported by Soviet tanks and other armored vehicles, rolled into thecapital. . Mitterrand refused to permit a confrontationbetween French forces and Libya over the Aozou strip. Qaddafi's World Design Libyan Foreign Policy,1969-1987. Martin's P, 1993."The Central African Republic." Europa World Year Book 1999 Volume I. It has little,other than arable land in the south, the rumored uranium ore in the Aozoustrip and some other minerals plus some minor oil reserves. According to Simons, Idris "was reluctantto become involved, [but] was nonetheless forced to show some sympathy withhis co-religionists among the Tebu and Arabs south of Fezzan. . The danger posed by Libya is that its radical form of Islam threatensto upset the delicate ethnic and religious balance in each country. In the late 198 s, the French, together with someAmerican military assistance to Chad with which the French reluctantly buttacitly acquiesced, decisively helped the Chadians drive Soviet-armedLibyan forces back to the Aozou strip. The United States also sent Habreabout $1 million in arms and monitored the movement of FROLINAT and Libyanforces by reconnaissance satellites and carrier-based aircraft. Ed. During the first phase of the Chadian Civil War, 1965-197 ,Collelo said "the influence of external assistance to the rebels . In the 199 s as it has beenundergoing a transition from military to civilian rule, "numerous politicaldifficulties" have been encountered," and "a socio-economic crisis," due topoor harvests, arrearages in salaries due civil servants, strikes andethnic conflicts (Niger 2654). France tacitly co-operated with the United States in repelling Libya's attacks in northernChad, but avoided a broader confrontation with Libya. Qaddafi threw Goukouni injail in Tripoli. Niger, the Central AfricanRepublic and Cameroon are small nations dependent on French militarysupport and French and international financial support. The Central African Republic was ruled for decades by one of WestAfrica's worst dictators, Bokassa (r. "Dependent by Default: Africa's Relations with theEuropean Union." Africa in World Politics Post-Cold War Challenges.Ed. In 1983 Goukouni, with strong Libyan armored and air support,launched an offensive against the Habre government and captured thenorthern administrative center of Faya Largeau. leaving the country over-dependent on the cotton sector, . Nationalism And New States in Africa. Boulder: Westview P, 1995."Islamist Path." Economist 21 Feb. 885-898."Chad-Libya." Africa Report (May-June 1994): 7.Chazan, Naomi, Robert Mortimer, John Ravenhill, and Donald Rothschild. Those six nations are Libya on the north, Sudan on the east, theCentral African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, a tinystrip of Nigeria in the west, and Niger in the northwest. His initial moves in sub-Sahara Africa in the early 197 sappeared to be primarily motivated by the desire to improve Libya'sstrategic position, eliminate Israeli influence in black Africa, andpromote anti-imperialist national liberation movements there. 1999: 43-44.Ravenhill, John. In1968, Tombalbaye invoked French assistance under Chad's 196 mutualassistance agreement with France. The French economy itselfis becoming more competitive and involved with Europe, East as well asWest, and it is less able than before to protect its former colonies underthe 1973 Lome Convention or otherwise by providing them with preferredaccess to the markets of the European Union. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1988."Mitterrand's Muddle." Economist 27 Feb. Brattleboro, VT: Amana Books, 1986."First thing first." Economist 29 Aug. 1998: 45-46.Fried, Julius W. Qaddafi's vague pronouncements of his intentionsto create an Islamic Federation across a broad swath of Africa fromMauritania to Sudan was unsettling. The difficulty is that the Nigerian state andeconomy have been grossly mismanaged by the military regimes which haveruled it for most of the post-independence period. PPT was led atindependence by Francois (later Ngarta) Tombalbaye. In the remainder of AOF and AEF, Francebroke up of the former federations into many small, economically fragilestates, which, after they achieved independence, were supposed to remainfinancially, economically and militarily dependent on France. Itlet the Libyans know that it did not recognize the legitimacy of theiroccupation of the Aozou strip. Even though France had reduced its troop strength in Chadin 1971, Tombalbaye decided to crack down further on his domestic opponentsand severed relations with Libya after alleging having uncovered a Libyan-inspired plot against him. French aid had been decisive" (233). London: Europa Publications, 1999. According toCollelo, "neither reformers nor skilled administrators, the new militaryleaders were unable to retain for long the modicum of authority,legitimacy, and popularity that they had gained through their overthrow ofthe unpopular Tombalbaye" (24-25). While the French and the OAU force stayed neutral, Habre turned hisforces against GUNT, which then appealed to Libya for assistance. London: Europa Publications, 1999. "Economic growth has been inhibited by . Meanwhile, King Idris, who was the grandson of the founder of theSanusi Order, and whose personal bodyguard was a Tobou from the formerSanusi center at Kufra, offered sanctuary in Tripoli to the exiled fatherof the FROLINAT leader Goukouni. 1987: 26-27."Living with Islam." Economist 27 July 1996: 35-36.Martin, Guy. On March 26, 1981, Qaddafiannounced: "we tell France and the whole world that Chad is linked toLibya, Libya is linked to Chad by destiny, geographically, humanly,historically, futuristically, and by security and economically" (El-Khawas145). At this point, France came under strong pressure from a numberof sources to intervene militarily--from the American administration ofRonald Reagan, which came to view Quaddafi's rejectionist stance againstIsrael, its support of international terrorism and its use of Sovietweapons to subvert other Arab and African governments, as a threat toAmerican national interests in the Cold War which had to be contained.France had been following a somewhat independent stance toward the Arabworld and sought to avoid a direct confrontation with Libya with which ithad favorable oil purchasing arrangements. French support to Tombalbaye was consistent with its policythroughout FSSA where it had a consistent record in the 196 s and 197 s,according to Chazan et al., of "propping up conservative regimes,"including even more odious dictatorships such as those of the barbaric JeanBokassa in the neighboring Central African Republic and Omar Bongo inGabon, among others (381). He also "set upseveral training camps for African freedom fighters" in Libya (El-Khawas14 ). But the old-fashioned, largely secular, nation-state is proving sturdy" and gave asexamples of surviving states which have resisted Islamic fundamentalismEgypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria (Living 35-36). France still derives a sense of global importance and some economicbenefits from its relationships with the francophone nations of West andCentral Africa. The French conquered Chad in the 189 , but it remained for the restof the colonial period a forlorn outpost. the country's land-locked position . Tribalfeuds and external warfare were common. Meanwhile, Goukouni and Habre quarreled over the latter's taking ofFrench hostages for ransom and, more importantly, over Habre's resoluteopposition to Libyan territorial ambitions in Chad. The combined effects of Libyanintervention and the spreading chaos among the warring factions in Chadbrought about the virtual collapse of the Chadian state and a profounddisequilibrium in the geopolitics of the region. . The Nigerian President mediated a settlementbetween Tombalbaye and Qaddafi which resulted in a treaty signed onDecember 23, 1972 between Libya and Chad and a 'zone of solidarity' betweenthe two countries. Finally, on April 13, 1975, he wasoverthrown and killed by a military coup led by his former chief of staffFelix Malloum. It brought more northerners and easternersinto the government, including a few rebels, but was distrusted by the Sarafor doing so. The new military government made a genuine effort with Frenchfinancial assistance to remedy the situation left behind by Tombalbaye. A factor which retarded further successes by the rebels was thegrowing split within FROLINAT between more conservative Muslim elements andmore radical Muslim socialists who became dominant under the leadership ofGoukouni and the then Maoist Hissene Habre. John 96). In terms of size, the only neighboring states of Chad which couldremotely hope to cope with direct or indirect Libyan aggression orsubversion based in Chad without outside assistance are the larger statesof Sudan and Nigeria, which are discussed below. .levels in the world" (Chad 89 ). Economically, France remains thelargest source of bilateral aid to FSSA but it has increasingly encouragedits members to comply with the directives of international lendingagencies such as the International Monetary Fund. Deby in Chad is reported to havereceived covert assistance from Libya in ousting Habre from power. Mitterrand airlifted a further 2, troops to Chad together with jetaircraft, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and other equipment. . On November 16,1984 Mitterrand met with Qaddafi on Crete where he confronted the latterwith evidence of Libyan cheating. 315). The Economist saidalthough "radical Islam, epitomized by Iran and Sudan, is showing signs ofexhaustion, "its grass-roots appeal remains impressive. Works Cited"A Survey of Nigeria." Economist 21 Aug. Habre attempted, but failed, to reach agreement with Libya in 1988over the status of the Aozou strip. Its Anglophone and largelyChristian majority is highly sensitive to radical Islamic agitation. In the immediate post-warperiod, France sought to retain control over its colonies in AEF and theFrench West African Federation (Federation de L'Afrique OccidentaleFrancaise-AOF) to the north by devolving some power to local territorialassemblies within an overall Franco-African community (France-Afrique) inwhich French interests would remain dominant. . The United States wasinterested in the Chad crisis of the mid to late 198 s because it sawLibya's intervention in Chad as an extension of Soviet influence in theregion. 381). London: Europa Publications, 1999. . In February 1986 and again December 1986 FROLINAT, now renamed GUNT,with massive Libyan armed support, renewed its assault on Chad by launchingattacks in the north. Meanwhile, Libyan intervention in Chadian affairsbecame increasingly more aggressive reflecting a more radical orientationof Libyan policy toward sub-Sahara Africa. Habre fled to Sudan. of the Libyanoccupation of Chad set off alarm signals from one end of trans-SaharaAfrica to the other" (332). Many West Africannations expressed their displeasure with Libya and a number of them severedrelations. OAUattempted once again to mediate a settlement at Addis Adaba in January 1984without success. 163- 188.Mazrui, Ali A., and Michael Tidy. It displayed itsindependence from, and its irritation with, the Reagan administration'spolicy toward Libya by vetoing American overflight of France during theAmerican bombing raids on Tripoli (from English airbases) on September 15,1986. The FSSA became acommon CFA franc monetary zone managed principally from Paris. It is very poor, GDP per capita $31 .France has had to intervene militarily to maintain order on a number ofoccasions. Although Libya has played the role ofpeacemaker in Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Togo, behind the scenes, it is stillchanneling funds to rebels in many African nations, including Liberia,Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali and Niger. Chazan et al. In March 1979 his army defeatedgovernment forces and took the capital, causing Malloum to resign. French diplomacy under President Francois Mitterrand was instrumentalin inducing President Goukouni to disavow the merger, and in return forpromises of French aid, to request Libya to withdraw its forces. On June 7, 1982, Habre captured N'Djamenaand Goukouni fled to Cameroon. Libya's combat performance reflected a growingdiscouragement and a sapping of the will to fight" (196). 1997: N1-N14."Africa's Many Pinochets-in-waiting." Economist 12 Feb. Chad remains an international economic basket case, almost entirelydependent on foreign aid from France and international lendinginstitutions. Various regional attempts by African nations, principallythrough the Organization of African Unity (OAU), to pacify Chad achievedlittle success. As the largest oil producer and exporter in Africa and its mostpopulous nation, Nigeria is a potential aspirant to hegemony over parts ofWest and Central Africa. Libyan support for dissident Chadian warlords andcompeting factions rapidly grew into more overt and massive intervention byLibya, including its seizure of the disputed Aozou strip on the Libya-Chadborder in 1973, its military occupation of the Chadian capital, N'Djamena,in 198 , its short-lived attempt to absorb Chad into Libya in 1981 and itsdomination of northern Chad in the early to mid-198 s. John pointed out thatLibya's military interventions in 1983-1987 differed in kind from itsprevious moves: In 198 Libyan troops had moved into the Chadian capital at the request of Chad's only legitimate government; but in 1983 Libya threw its weight behind a rebel force and against a government which enjoyed official recognition by the majority of OAU members (1 3).Habre appealed for international assistance to halt FROLINAT's new thrustsouthward. For the next quarter century,francophone Africa was seen by successive French presidents and foreignpolicy makers "as constituting a natural French preserve (domaine reserveou pre-carre) off-limits to other foreign powers" (168). London: Europa Publications, 1999. The last half of the 197 s was marked by growing chaos in Chad as thenew government rapidly lost control of the situation, split into rival andwarring factions and lost the battlefield initiative to FROLINAT whichitself was divided. Accordingto Collelo, "between January and April 1987 the Chadian forces defeated theLibyans in several battles, forcing a Libyan retirement to the Aozou strip. According to Simons, "when the French were forced to withdraw fromFezzan in 1954, King Idris tacitly accepted the annexation by agreeing [to]the 1955 Franco-Italian Treaty" (268). Today Chad has more than 2 differentethnic groups, the Toubou and other nomadic Muslim groups predominating inthe north, Arabs and other Muslim groups such as the Hajeray and Zaghawa inthe central, semi-arid savanna Sahelian region and the Sara in the south.More than 1 languages are spoken (Metz xiii). With supplies from Libya cut off, its operationshampered by a severe drought and French military pressure and weakened byinternal divisions, FROLINAT's operations were largely restricted to thedesolate northern region. During World War II, Gaullist influence became strong because FreeFrench General Jacques LeClerc led his 194 -1943 expedition into Axis-heldLibya from Ft. Lamy. In the 19th century, the Sanusi order (a combination of Sufiascetisim and Islamic orthodoxy) had gained sway over the tribes inCyrenaica in eastern Libya and also in Fezzan. In the early197 s he cultivated a close relationship with Sudanese strong man Jafa'aran Numeiri, but later they became antagonistic when Numeiri and Sadatjoined hands and Numeiri discovered Libyan plots against him before theSudanese military ousted him in 1985. Still, Nigeria is a force for stability in the regionand a counterweight to Libyan imperial aggrandizement and subversion. Then atemporary stalemate settled in with Libya and FROLINAT in control of mostof northern Chad. Geopolitically, Chad is importantnot because of what it has, but because of where it is. However, France was forced torecognize the independence of Morocco and Tunisia in the 195 s and becamebogged down in a costly war in Algeria which eventually resulted inAlgerian independence in 1962. In October1981 Qaddafi abruptly did so, pulling his troops back to the Aozou strip,El-Khawas opined in part because he hoped to stage the 1982 annual OAUmeeting in Tripoli and be elected Chairman for the succeeding year. John, Ronald Bruce. New York: Walker, 1969."Niger." Europa World Year Book 1999 Volume II. France, which had withdrawnalmost all of its forces from Chad in 1975, then sent back paratroopers andForeign Legion units. Oil was alsofirst discovered in Libya in the Fezzan (by Exxon in 1957), but the outputand reserves of crude oil there are small in comparison to those elsewherein Libya. most observers attribute the rebels' success more to theineptitude of Chad's government and national army than to outsideassistance" (2 ). However, "it borders on sixother countries and constitutes a door into black Africa for Libya.Geopolitics, like nature, abhors a vacuum" and therefore, the instabilityin Chad "has had the effect of stimulating stronger regional consequencesthroughout the trans-Sahara" (345). "Francophone Africa in the Context of Franco-African Relations." Africa in World Politics Post-Cold War Challenges. Cameroon's is53 percent Christian; 22 percent Muslim (Cameroon 814). had exposed the vulnerability of Libya's heavy armor to amore mobile enemy. . Human rights abuses arecommonplace. Whoeverconquers Chad assumes a plethora of political problems and economicburdens. However, by this time, Libyansupport to Goukouni's faction was beginning to influence the course of thewar. Nine African nationshelped broker the Lagos Accord of August 21, 1979 which set up a Governmentof National Unity (GUNT) headed by Goukouni. For the foreseeable future, the stability of the trans-Sahara region will probably remain unsettled. For many centuries before Libya achieved nationhood (in 1952), thenomadic peoples who inhabited the trackless desert wastes of the Fezzanregion of southern Libya and northern Chad had traded and intermingled witheach other. Wright said that "oil and the unique political vision of MoammarGadafi were the driving forces of Libya's new, revolutionary foreignpolicy" (154). OAU mediationfailed once again to take hold. He stoppedshort of providing weapons or open support for rebels but they derived somematerial support from the Libyan monarchy" (271). In September 1972, Chad severed its ties with Israel,as did most of the other nations in FSSA in 1972-1974. Tombalbaye attempted to crush the insurrection, but by 1968, FROLINATcontrolled much of the northern, central and eastern parts of Chad. Recent examples includeconflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Zaire,the massacres in Rwanda and border disputes such as between Nigeria andCameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula. Pierre Laval and Benito Mussolininegotiated a treaty in 1935 which awarded the Aozou strip, a disputed114, square kilometer strip along the northern border of Chad, to Libya;however, that treaty was never ratified by the French legislature. However, Habre's forces with substantial assistancefrom both France and the United States forced their withdrawal. attracted international criticism and abuse, Libyanofficials were expelled from many African countries, and the . President Tombalbaye proceeded torule Chad from 196 to 1975 as a one party state (dictator). It also establishedmilitary, religious and commercial centers in northern Chad where they weresuppressed by the French after 19 2. According to Collelo, "in theFrench scale of priorities, the colony of Chad ranked near the bottom"(11). Islam came south to Chad inthe 1 th century in the form of Muslim traders and missionaries. Among the specialprivileges retained by France in the region was its preferential andpriority access to strategic raw materials, such as 1 percent of theuranium ore exports of Gabon and Niger. 2653-2679."Niger's president forced to share power after holding elections (Pres. Boulder: Westview P, 1998.Harbeson, John W., and Donald Rothschild, eds. Beginning in 1996, the first relatively free elections inChad's history were held, resulting in Deby's re-election. Ravenhill said "France has not hesitated to intervenemilitarily when it believed its interests required" (11 ). St. OAU sent a 3, man Nigerian, Senegalese and Zairianpeacekeeping mission to Chad, but it failed because its charter wasunclear, its force was too small and it was under funded. 1998: 48.Levin, Bob. Africa in World Politics Post-Cold War Challenges. For example, hecultivated close ties with the Niger strong man President Hamani Diori, whobadly needed foreign assistance due to the drought of 1968-1974. St. St. In short, as Chazan et al. Even inNiger, where Muslims predominate, the northern Tuaregs, who work theuranium mines which are critical to the very poor, landlocked Niger economy(48.8 percent of exports in 1996), have periodically erupted against thecentral government, unrest which Qaddafi has financed and exploited. However, sincethe 198 s French administrations have been criticized in France andelsewhere for continuing to prop up corrupt, repressive regimes. However, whenthese new entities were asked to vote on independence under General Charlesde Gaulle's referendum of 1958, they voted for independence without formalstrings to France. Goukouni and Habre quarreledin power. For a variety of reasons, generally much lower (untilrecently) world crude oil prices, the massive costs of its social programsand grandiose infrastructure projects, the inefficiency of its state-ownedenterprises, progress in the Middle Eastern peace process, the resistanceof nationstates in the Arab world and in Africa to Qaddafi's dreams of pan-Arab unity and radical Islamic expansion, the lessons delivered by Francein Chad, and by the United States over Tripoli and Benghazi, and the cutoffof Russian support as well as the lessons of past experience have allcaused Libya to adopt a more moderate stance in international affairs.Simons said "while Gaddafi's hold on power in Libya seems secure most ofhis foreign ambitions have been thwarted" (267). However, the Economist also reported that Qaddafi has recently calledpan-Arabism "a mirage" and that "sub-Sahara Africa is to be the colonel'snew playground" (Qaddafi 43). Habre then broke with the government. said "the success . Harbeson and Donald Rothschild. OAU-seeing the Libyan plans as an unwelcome Arab penetration of the continent-condemned the proposed merger" and demanded the withdrawal of Libya'stroops from Chad (274). "privileged treatment at the highest level ofthe French government" and "in return [left] an open door to Frenchinfluence" (Chazan et al. In Chad in the late 195 s, the opposition Chadian Progressive Party(Parti Progressive Tchadien-PPT) rose to the fore. Simonssaid this "was the sort of invitation Gaddhafi had been waiting for" (273).France withdrew its forces. Libya A Modern History. The foreign legion established a fort at the site of the presentcapital, then called Fort Lamy, but most of Chad to the north and east was"never governed effectively," especially the desert regions of the north(11).Governed largely from Bangui in today's Central African Republic to thesouth, the southern or soudanian region of Chad received most Frenchattention and funds because its more humid climate and more fertile landsfacilitated after 1928 the growing of cotton which is still today Chad'smost important export. The primary causeof the civil insurrection which began in northern Chad in 1965 was,according to Mazrui and Tidy, "maladministration by southern (mainly Sara)civil servants in the northern and central regions" (2 7). These ethnic and national security considerations applied to a lesserdegree in the rest of FSSA. . With strong Libyan support, FROLINAT now led by Goukouniexpanded its zone of control in the north. . Collelosaid the CAR's major concern in the 198 s "was preventing Chad's civil warfrom spreading across its southern border" (165). So, without firing ashot, Qaddafi had strengthened his southern frontier and weakened Israel'sties with the region. OAU has proved itself ineffective as a mediatorand peacekeeping organization in Chad on several occasions. Nevertheless, it hasintervened militarily in the 199 s alone in Togo (199 ), Comoro Republic(199 ), Rwanda (199 -1993 and 1994), Zaire (1991), Djibouti (1991) and inSomalia (in 1991 as part of the UN force). However, Sudan remainspreoccupied with its own civil war between the Muslim, Arabized north andthe largely Christian, more Africanized SPLM which has been going onintermittently since 1955 and which is estimated to have killed more than1.3 millions through war casualties, famine and disease (Sudan 39). It also refused to intervenein Chad to prevent Habre from being deposed even though there were reportsthat Qaddafi bankrolled Deby's takeover there. Resentment by allthese groups against what they regarded as southern domination led to theformation in June 1966 in southwestern Sudan of the National LiberationFront of Chad (Front de Liberation Nationale du Tchad-FROLINAT), whichtemporarily united more conservative and radical Muslim elements againstthe government. Then an OAU-sponsored cease fire went into effect, which, except forsporadic fighting, has remained in place ever since. Nigeria's GDP per capita in 1996 was only $24 (First 46).Inflation has been as high as 24, percent in the mid-199 s (46). . . . 872-884.Wright, John. Taxes were raised on tribeswhich had been largely left alone by colonial authorities. Most of them and othernations in sub-Saharan Africa, became alarmed at the spread of Libyan-ledIslamic influence and power and the threat it represented to their multi-ethnic regimes. Harbeson and Donald Rothschild. Qaddafi, His Ideology in Theory and Practice. Itshould also be remembered that Libya is the only African nation, now thatNelson Mandela's South Africa signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treatyand opened up its dismantled nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, whichis capable of becoming in the foreseeable future a nuclear power.According, however, to Simons, despite many unsuccessful attempts byQaddafi to obtain nuclear capability, "it is seems unlikely that Libyapossesses even a rudimentary nuclear weapon or is investing a nuclearresearch intended to produce such a weapons capability" (24 ).Nevertheless, Libya remains the strongest conventional military power incentral Africa and still a potential threat to the countries of the region. Boulder: Westview P, 2d ed., 1992.Collelo, Thomas, ed. However, many of the francophone states andothers such as Ghana are distrustful of Nigerian leadership and territorialambitions in the region. Mahamane Ousmane)." Africa Report 4 (Mar.-Apr. Only Cameroon has extensive oil reserves. 2 : 47."Bandit country." Economist 7 May 1988: 38-39 & 42."Cameroon." Europa World Year Book 1999 Volume I. According to Simons, with respect to Chad, Qaddafi, who was thenpreoccupied with consolidating the power of his Revolution Command Council,ejecting the British and American military from Libya and shaking down theinternational oil companies operating there for more revenues, was "atfirst circumspect, offering aid and arms to Frolinat but unwilling tobecome involved with a direct confrontation with the Tombalbaye government"(271). Washington: Government Printing Office, 199 .El-Khawas, Mohammed A. John said "Libya's withdrawal fromnorthern Chad was a humiliating military defeat" (1 3). Arms trading across the Chadian border isrampant. Boulder: Westview P, 1995. InMarch 199 a new dissident element, the Mouvement patriotique du salut-MPS,under Idriss Deby launched an invasionof Chad from Sudan and, after being repulsed, a second attack in November.France remained neutral. Historical Origins of Post-Colonial Strife in Chad The Republic of Chad was carved out of French Equatorial Africa(Afrique Equatorial Francaise-AEF) as a separate colony in 192 and becameindependent, along with the rest of French-speaking or francophone West andCentral Africa, in January 196 . New York: St. Sub-SaharaAfrica's external debt is 112 percent of GDP, "a far higher level than anyother region of the world" (Chazan et al. Libya's forceful intervention in Chad was part of a new pattern inits dealings with sub-Sahara Africa. Between 1965 and 1988, ethnic and religious strife and accompanyinginternecine internal struggles led to the collapse of the post-colonialorder in Chad and created a power vacuum in this central trans-Sahararegion. There is currently a UN peacekeeping force in the CAR. It wasrumored that one of Libya's motivations in seizing the Aozou strip was toexploit its alleged uranium ore reserves, but none has yet been minedthere.Libya offered the Tombalbaye government substantial financial credits whichnever materialized. London: Saqi Books, 1987.Simons, Geoff. When they recaptured the LibyanOuadi Doum airbase, the Chadians also seized a substantial booty, valued at$1.35 billion, of advanced Soviet weapons, including MIGs, tanks, anti-aircraft missiles, etc. John W. Anumber of African governments, including Senegal and Zaire, pressed Franceto intervene. The Long Presidency: France in the Mitterrand Years, 1981- 1995. . . In February,2 Senegal arrested Habre, holding him for extradition to Chad where aTruth Commission accused his government of having committed 4 , political murders and the torture of 2 , persons in detention (Africa's47). In Chad, Qaddafi began in 197 -1971 to supply arms to one faction ofFROLINAT which was headed by Dr. Abba Seddik. According to Simons, "tensionsdeveloped between Tombalbaye and the Tebu Derde (or judge), OueddeiKichidemi, when the government refused to appoint the son of the Derde,Goukouni Oueddei, to a government post" (27 ). Causes of the First Chadian Civil War (1965-1971). The region is likely, therefore, to experience continuing instabilityand disorder, shifting alliances and efforts by Libya and others to expandtheir spheres of influence. However, the ending of the Cold War has not resulted in less butrather more civil disorder, ethnic and religious strife and wars in Africaas well as elsewhere in the less developed world. (Levin 26). Mitterrandsounded a new note in its special relations with FSSA when he told the 199 Franco-African summit meeting with FSSA presidents at La Baule: "French aidto Africa will be lukewarm toward authoritarian regimes and moreenthusiastic for those initiating a democratic transition" (Martin 18 ).France has strongly supported the movement toward democratization in theregion and has suspended economic aid to nations which engage in humanrights abuses, which it did in Togo when the government fired on peacefulpro-democracy demonstrators (Mitterrand 42). The Economist said "as West Africa's biggest andrichest power, Nigeria has taken a proprietary interest in itsneighborhood" (Nigeria 16). According to Mazrui and Tidy,"Tombalbaye's regime only survived through French intervention in 1968 andagain in 1969-1972" (2 8). The northerners finally had achieved theiraim of securing control of the government in Chad. Franceimposed a Red Line at the 15th parallel. non-alignment in the Cold War, his advocacy of state socialism and his adamantopposition to apartheid South Africa, white Rhodesia and other vestiges ofEuropean colonialism in Africa such as in the Portuguese colonies of Angolaand Mozambique resonated in many parts of Africa. "Standoff in the Sahara." McLean's 21 Sept. It, too, is making a difficult transition tomultiparty rule and free elections. Nigeria was involved in various efforts on its own and inconjunction with OAU to mediate peace in Chad during the 196 s and 197 s.Collelo said its policy in the 198 s was "limiting Libyan expansion whileavoiding direct clashes with Libyan troops" (162). The Central AfricanRepublic's is one half Christian, 15 percent Muslim. John W. After theNiger military overthrew Diori in 1974, Qaddafi incited the Muslim BerberTuaregs in northern Niger to revolt against the regime. . Although the idea of France d'Afrique died aborning, allof the 21 francophone states of western, central and eastern Africa (andthe Indian Ocean region), French sub-Saharan Africa (FSSA), which becameindependent in 196 , except Guinea, entered into comprehensive bilateralagreements with France covering military, diplomatic, financial and otherforms of economic and commercial cooperation. John notedthat when Libyan intervention in Chad in the early 198 s became more overtand aggressive, "the indignation seemed to be in direct proportion to thedistance of the state [threatened] from Libya and the size of itsindigenous Muslim population" (1 1). In 1964 the French withdrew their troops from the Aozou strip and theadjacent northern provinces, which after 1966 fell under the control ofFROLINAT. It was headed byLibya's Islamic Legion and consisted of mercenaries who were recruited fromamong Arabs and black Africans and trained in Libya. The West: the United States and France. 1995): 6-7."Nigeria does it again." Economist 2 Feb. John 96). Chad's principalsignificance since ancient times lay in the fact that it was a central waystation along trans-Sahara trade routes. France and the Africans 1944-196 A Political History. They and jet fighter bombers stemmed FROLINAT'sadvance on N'Djamena in 1978. Thecountry disintegrated into full scale civil war. The French withdrew their forces, but learned throughintelligence sources that Libya was keeping about 5, troops inside Chad.Libya began to circulate maps showing the Aozou strip and most of northernChad, including Faya Largeau, as part of Greater Libya. He added somewhat ominously: "we consider [Niger], Chad's neighbor tothe northwest] second in line after Chad" (145). Qaddafi's espousal of his Third International Theory, e.g. . Since 1988, Chad has remainedpolitically unstable and dependent on the outside world for its economicsurvival. Nairobi: Heineman, 1984.Metz, Helen, ed. El-Khawas said "indealing with Muslim African countries, Libyan officials emphasized theIslamic connection" (137). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.