Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/backgrd/Chad.BKG

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US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

BACKGROUND NOTE:  Chad, May 1992

Official Name:  Republic of Chad

PROFILE

Geography
Area:  1,284,634 sq. km. (496,000 sq. mi.); about the size of
Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico combined.  Cities:
Capital--N'Djamena (pop. 500,000 est.).  Other major
cities--Moundou (pop. 120,000), Abeche, Sarh.  Terrain:  Desert,
mountainous north, large arid central plain, fertile lowlands in
extreme southern region.  Climate:  Northern desert--very dry
throughout the year; central plain--hot and dry, with brief rainy
season mid-June to mid-September; southern lowlands--warm and more
humid with seasonal rains from late May to early October.

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Chadian(s).  Population:  5.5
million.  Annual growth rate:  2.5%.  Density:  4.2 per sq. km. (11
per sq. mi.).  Life expectancy--46.  Infant mortality
rate--132/1,000.  Ethnic groups:  200 distinct groups--including
Toubou (Gourane), Arabs, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Kanembou, Bagirmi,
Boulala, Zaghawa, Hadjerai, and Maba--most of whom are Muslim, in
the north and center. Non-Muslims, Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye),
Moudang, Moussei, Massa--in the south.  About 2,500 French citizens
live in Chad. Religions:  Muslim, Christian, traditional.
Languages:  French and Arabic (official); 200 indigenous Chadian
languages.

Government
Type: Republic.  Independence:  August 11, 1960.

        Branches: Executive--president (head of state, president of
the council of ministers), council of ministers.
Legislative--Provisional Council of the Republic.  Judicial--court
of appeals, several lower courts.
        Political party: Six political parties as of May 18, 1992:
Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), Rally for Democracy and
Progress (RDP), Democratic Union for Progress in Chad (UDPT),
National Rally for Democracy and Progress (VIVA-RNDP), Union for
Democracy and the Republic (UDR), Chadian People's Assembly (RPT).
Suffrage:  None.
        Administrative subdivisions:  14 prefectures, 54
subprefectures, 27 administrative posts, and 9 municipalities.
        Flag:  Blue, yellow, and red vertical bands from left to
right.

Economy
GDP (est.):  $1 billion.  Per capita income (est.):  $200.
        Natural resources:  Petroleum (unexploited), natron (sodium
carbonate), kaolin.
        Agriculture:  Products--cotton, gum arabic, livestock,
fish, peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, sweet potatoes, cassava,
dates.
        Industry:  Types--agriculture and livestock processing
plants, natron mining.
        Trade:  Exports--$155 million:  cotton (46%), livestock,
gum arabic.  Imports--$250 million:  petroleum, machinery, cement,
motor vehicles, used clothing.  Major trade partners--France and
countries of the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa.
Chad enjoys preferential tariffs in France and other EC countries.

        Official exchange rate:  As of April 1992, the exchange
rate was 255 CFA francs=US$1.
        Economic aid received (1990):  Economic, food relief--$312
million from all sources.  US aid--$10.9 million (fiscal year
ending 1990).

PEOPLE

        There are more than 200 ethnic groups in Chad.  Those in
the north and east are generally Muslim; most southerners are
animists and Christians.  Through their long religious and
commercial relationships with Sudan and Egypt, many of the peoples
in Chad's eastern and central regions have become more or less
Arabized, speaking Arabic and engaging in many other Arab cultural
practices as well.  Chad's southern peoples took more readily to
European culture during the French colonial period.

HISTORY

        Chad has known human habitation since time immemorial.  The
oldest humanoid skull yet found in Chad (Borkou) is more than 1
million years old.  Because in ancient times the Saharan area was
not totally arid, Chad's population was more evenly distributed
than it is today.  For example, 7,000 years ago,  the north central
basin, now in the Sahara, was still filled with water, and people
lived and farmed around its shores.  The cliff paintings in Borkou
and Ennedi depict elephants, rhinoceri, giraffes, cattle, and
camels;  only camels survive there today.  The region was known to
traders and geographers from the late Middle Ages.  Since then,
Chad has served as a crossroads for the Muslim peoples of the
desert and savanna regions and the animist Bantu tribes of the
tropical forests.
        Sao people lived along the Chari River for thousands of
years, but their relatively weak chiefdoms were overtaken by the
powerful chiefs of what were to become the Kanem-Bornu and Baguirmi
kingdoms.  At their peak, these two kingdoms and the kingdom of
Ouaddai controlled a good part of what is now Chad, as well as
parts of Nigeria and Sudan.  From 1500 to 1900, Arab slave raids
were widespread. The French first penetrated Chad in 1891,
establishing their authority through military expeditions primarily
against the Muslim kingdoms.  The first major colonial battle for
Chad was fought in 1900 between the French Major Lamy and the
African leader Rabah, both of whom were killed in the battle.
Although the French won that battle, they did not declare the
territory pacified until 1911; armed clashes between colonial
troops and local bands continued for many years thereafter.
        In 1905, administrative responsibility for Chad was placed
under a governor general stationed at Brazzaville in what is now
Congo.  Although Chad joined the French colonies of Gabon,
Oubangui-Charo, and Moyen Congo to form the Federation of French
Equatorial Africa (AEF) in 1910, it did not have colonial status
until 1920.  The northern region of Chad was occupied by the French
in 1914.
        In 1959, the territory of French Equatorial Africa was
dissolved, and four states--Gabon, the Central African Republic,
Congo (Brazzaville), and Chad--became autonomous members of the
French Community.  In 1960, Chad became an independent nation under
its first president, Francois Tombalbaye.
        A long civil war began as a tax revolt in 1965 and soon set
the Muslim north and east against the southern-led government.
Even with the help of French combat forces, the Tombalbaye
Government was never able to quell the        insurgency.
Tombalbaye's rule became more irrational and brutal, leading the
military to carry out a coup in 1975 and to install Gen. Felix
Malloum, a southerner, as head of state.
        In 1978, Malloum's Government was broadened to include more
northerners.  Internal dissent within the government led the
northern Prime Minister, Hissein Habre, to send his forces against
the national army at N'Djamena in February 1979.  This act led to
intense fighting among the 11 factions that emerged.  At this
point, the civil war had become so widespread that regional
governments decided there was no effective central government and
stepped in.
        A series of four international conferences held first under
Nigerian and then Organization of African Unity (OAU) sponsorship
attempted to bring the Chadian factions together.  At the fourth
conference, held in Lagos, Nigeria, in August 1979, the Lagos
accord was signed.  This accord established a transitional
government pending national elections.  In November 1979, the
National Union Transition Government (GUNT) was created with a
mandate to govern for 18 months.  Goukouni Oueddei, a northerner,
was named President; Col. Kamougue, a southerner, Vice President;
and Habre, Minister of Defense.
        This coalition proved fragile; in March 1980, fighting
broke out again between Goukouni's and Habre's forces.  The war
dragged on inconclusively until Goukouni sought and obtained Libyan
intervention.  More than 7,000 Libyan troops entered Chad.
Although Goukouni requested complete withdrawal of external forces
in October 1981, the Libyans pulled back only to the Aozou Strip in
northern Chad.
        An OAU peacekeeping force of 3,500 troops replaced the
Libyan forces in the remainder of Chad.  The force, consisting of
troops from Nigeria, Senegal, and Zaire, received funding from the
United States.  A special summit of the OAU ad hoc committee on the
Chad/Libya dispute in February 1982 called for reconciliation among
all the factions, particularly those led by Goukouni and Habre, who
had resumed fighting in eastern Chad.  Although Habre agreed to
participate, Goukouni refused to negotiate with Habre on an equal
basis.  In the series of battles that followed, Habre's forces
defeated the GUNT, and Habre occupied N'Djamena on June 7, 1982.
The OAU force remained neutral during the conflict, and all of its
elements were withdrawn from Chad at the end of June.
        In the summer of 1983, GUNT forces launched an offensive
against government positions in northern and eastern Chad.
Following a series of initial defeats, government forces succeeded
in stopping the rebels.  At this point, Libyan forces directly
intervened once again, bombing government forces at Faya Largeau.
Ground attacks followed the bombings, forcing government troops to
abandon N'Djamena and withdraw to the south.  In response to
Libya's direct intervention, French and Zairian forces were sent to
Chad to assist in defending the government.  With the deployment of
French troops, the military situation stabilized, leaving the
Libyans and rebels in control of all Chad 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,
however, and its forces continued to occupy the northern third of
Chad.
        President Habre's efforts to deal with his opposition were
aided by a number of African leaders, especially Gabon's President,
Omar Bongo. During accords held in Libreville, Gabon, in 1985, two
of the chief exile opposition groups, the Chadian Democratic Front
and the Coordinating Action Committee of the Democratic
Revolutionary Council, made peace with the Habre Government.  By
1986, all of the rebel commando (CODO) groups in southern Chad came
in from the forests, rallied to President Habre's side, and were
re-integrated into the Forces Armees Nationales Chadiennes (FANT).
        In the fall of 1986, fighters loyal to Goukouni Oueddei,
leader of the GUNT, began defecting to the FANT.  Although Libyan
forces were more heavily equipped than were the Chadians, Habre's
FANT, with considerable assistance from ex-GUNT forces, began
attacks against the Libyan occupiers in November 1986 and won
victories at all the important cities.  The Chadian offensive ended
in August 1987, with the taking of Aozou Town, the principal
village in the Aozou Strip.  Chad Government forces held the
village for a month but lost it to a heavy Libyan counterattack.
        The OAU ad hoc committee continued to seek a peaceful
solution to the Chad/Libya conflict, holding meetings over the
years with heads of state or ministerial-level officials.  In
October 1988, Chad resumed formal diplomatic relations with Libya,
in accordance with recommendations made by the OAU.
A month later, Habre's reconciliation efforts succeeded, and he
took power in N'Djamena.  In April 1989, Idriss Deby, one of
Habre's leading generals, defected and fled to Darfur in Sudan,
from which he mounted a series of attacks on the eastern region of
Chad.  In November 1990, he invaded; on December 2, 1990, his
forces entered N'Djamena without a battle, President Habre and
forces loyal to him having fled. After 3 months of provisional
government, a national charter was approved by the Patriotic
Salvation Movement (MPS) on February 28, 1991, with Deby as
President.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

        The Fundamental Act of the Republic, proclaimed on October
18, 1982, served as the constitutional basis for government until
December 10, 1989, when it was replaced by a new constitution.  The
latter was revoked by the MPS on December 4, 1990, after Habre's
fall.
        Until the December 1990 takeover of the government by the
MPS, Chad's political structure comprised an executive office, a
national assembly, and the National Union for Independence and
Revolution (UNIR), the sole political party.  The MPS embarked on
an ambitious democratization program, which included authorization
for multiple political parties in October 1991 and presidential,
legislative, and local elections in 1993.  The current government,
self-described as a transitional or provisional government, is
headed by President Idriss Deby.  Prime Minister Jean Bawoyeu
Alingue is charged with administration of government.  A council of
ministers, which the president heads, directs government policy.
Authority for the current government structure comes from the
national charter of March 1991.  Until March 1992, the MPS was the
only political organization permitted.  Since then, the Rally for
Democracy and Progress (headed by Lol Mahamat Choua), the
Democratic Union for Progress in Chad (Elie Romba), the National
Rally for Democracy and Progress (Kassire Joumakoye), the Union for
Democracy and the Republic (Jean Bawoyeau Alingue), and the Chadian
People's Assembly (Dangde Laobele Damaye), were authorized.

        The MPS is composed of a 28-member executive committee and
a 155-member national committee.  Idriss Deby is the president of
the MPS.  Chad's politics are dominated by the democratization
agenda, established by the MPS as a priority.  Progress has been
made in ameliorating Chad's human rights record and in liberalizing
politics.  Currently, an outspoken press, two trade unions, and two
human rights organizations function openly.
        Relations between Chad and Libya are important factors in
Chad's political environment.  Idriss Deby and the MPS have
advocated a good-neighbor policy with all countries bordering Chad,
including Libya.  This has resulted in a lessening of the military
tensions evident under the Habre regime, but concerns remain as to
Libya's political intentions in Chad, and the dispute over the
Aozou Strip remains unresolved.  The case was referred to the
International Court of Justice for review.

Principal Government Officials

President, Head of State, President of the Council of
Ministers--Idriss Deby
Prime Minister--Jean Bawoyeu Alingue
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Mahamat Saleh Ahmat
Ambassador to the US and UN--Acheik ibn Oumar
        Chad maintains an embassy in the United States at 2002 R
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel: [phone]).

DEFENSE

        The Chadian military under former President Hissein Habre
was dominated by members of Gourane, Zaghawa, Kanembou, Hadjerai,
and Massa groups.  Idriss Deby, a member of a minority Zaghawa clan
and a top military commander, revolted and fled to the Sudan,
taking with him many Zaghawa and Hadjerai soldiers in 1989.
        The forces Deby led into N'Djamena on December 1, 1990, and
which overthrew Habre were mainly of Zaghawas, including a large
number of Sudanese Zaghawa.  Many of these were recruited while
Deby was in the bush. Deby's coalition also included a small number
of Hadjerais and southerners.
        Chad's armed forces numbered about 35,000 at the end of the
Habre regime but swelled to an estimated 50,000 in the early days
of Idriss Deby.  The growth was a result of recruiting tribal
members loyal to Deby and his principal commanders and of combining
Habre's and Deby's armies into the new national Chadian army, FANT.
        With French support, a reorganization of the armed forces
was initiated early in 1991.  The reorganization goal is to reduce
the armed forces from 50,000 to 25,000 and to restructure it into
a ground army of approximately 20,000, consisting of a republican
guard, infantry regiments, and support battalions.  Also included
in the new structure is a gendarmerie of about 5,000 and an air
force of about 400.  Ethnic composition of the regiments is to
reflect that of the country as a whole.
        A key challenge for the national army of Chad is the
reduction portion of the overall reorganization plan.  Limited
funds to pay mustering out bonuses and pensions and a lack of
employment opportunities in the economy have inhibited efforts.
However, a list of the initial reductions has been drafted and is
being reviewed by government officials for implementation.

ECONOMY

        About 85% of Chadians make their living from subsistence
agriculture, fishing, and stock raising.  Cotton and livestock are
the two major exports, accounting for 70% of Chad's export
earnings.  In years of adequate rainfall, Chad is self-sufficient
in food.  In years of drought, such as those that occurred in the
mid-1970s, in 1984-85, and in 1990, large quantities of foodstuffs,
primarily cereals, must be imported.
        Cotton alone accounts for 10% of agricultural GDP.  Primary
markets include neighboring Cameroon and Nigeria and France,
Germany, and Portugal.  In 1986, cotton prices on the world market
declined by more than 50%, and CotonTchad did not show a profit
again until 1991.  Rehabilitation of CotonTchad, the major cotton
company, has been financed by France, the Netherlands, the European
Economic Community (EC), and the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).  Because of cotton's
importance to the economy, the government excused the collection of
export taxes until the company returned to profitability.
CotonTchad is adhering to its agenda and is well on the road to
recovery.
        The other major export is livestock, herded to neighboring
countries.  Herdsmen in the Sudanic and Sahelian zones raise
cattle, sheep, goats, and, among the non-Muslims, a few pigs.  In
the Saharan region, only camels and a few hardy goats can survive.
Chad also sells smoked and dried fish to its neighbors and exports
several million  dollars worth of gum arabic to Europe each year.
Other food crops include millet, sorghum, peanuts, rice, sweet
potatoes, manioc, cassava, and yams.
        In both the north and the south, industrial activity and
minerals exploration peaked in 1978.  The civil war and the Libyan
intervention in 1980 devastated N'Djamena and destroyed most of the
economic infrastructure there.  Between the first outbreak of heavy
fighting in N'Djamena in February 1979 and the withdrawal of Libyan
forces from the capital in 1981, southern Chad became an autonomous
area, not to be fully integrated into the country until 1983.  The
south continued to export cotton, but none of the economic benefits
of that trade reached the rest of the country.
        The effects of the war on foreign investment are still felt
today, as investors who left Chad between 1979-82 have only
recently begun to regain confidence in the country's future.  By
early 1983, the return of internal security and a successful Geneva
donors' conference had prompted a number of international business
representatives to make exploratory visits to Chad.
        An international consortium is conducting exploratory
drilling for petroleum in the south.  By mid-1991, seismic studies
by an American oil company in the north-central desert area were
completed.  The World Bank has agreed to partially finance a
pipeline/mini-refinery/power plant project in N'Djamena using small
crude oil deposits found north of Lake Chad.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

        Chad is officially non-aligned but has close relations with
France, the former colonial power, and other members of the Western
community.  It receives economic aid from countries of the European
Community, the United States, and various international
organizations.  Libya supplies aid and has an ambassador resident
in N'Djamena.
        Other resident diplomatic missions in N'Djamena include the
embassies of France, the United States, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq,
Sudan, Germany, the Central African Republic, Zaire, Nigeria,
China, Cameroon, and the European Economic Community.  A number of
other countries have non-resident ambassadors.  In 1988, Chad
decided to  recognize the "State of Palestine," which maintains an
"embassy" in N'Djamena.  Chad has not recognized the State of
Israel.
        With the exception of Libya, whose expansionist policies
have kept the two nations in conflict since 1980, Chad has
generally good rapport with its neighbors.  Although relations with
Libya improved with the advent of the Deby Government, strains
persist.
        Chad has been an active champion of regional cooperation
through the Central African Economic and Customs Union, the Lake
Chad and Niger River Basin Commissions, and the Inter-state
Commission for the Fight Against the Drought in the Sahel.

US-CHAD RELATIONS

        Relations between the United States and Chad are good.  The
American Embassy in N'Djamena, established at Chadian independence
in 1960, was closed from the onset of the heavy fighting in the
city in 1980 until the withdrawal of the Libyan forces at the end
of 1981.  It was reopened in January 1982.  The US Agency for
International Development  (AID) and the US Information Service
(USIS) offices resumed activities in Chad in September 1983.
        The United States enjoyed close relations with the Habre
regime, although strains over human rights abuses developed prior
to Habre's fall.  Cordial relations with the Deby Government
continue.  The USAID program is expanding, both in terms of project
assistance and emergency aid.  Approximately $15 million in
emergency assistance was granted to combat a cholera epidemic and
to prevent famine in 1991.
        The US development program in Chad concentrates on the
agricultural, health, and infrastructure sectors and includes
projects in road repair and maintenance, maternal and child health,
famine early warning systems, and agricultural marketing.  USAID
works with several American voluntary agencies such as CARE,
AFRICARE, and VITA on some of its projects.  The first Peace Corps
volunteers of the post-war period arrived in Chad in September
1987, and about 40 are currently assigned.
        Development assistance had increased from $3.3 million in
1982 to $15 million in 1991. Budget constraints have forced
economic support funds cutbacks for FY 1992, however.

Principal US Officials

Ambassador--Richard Bogosian
Deputy Chief of Mission--Steven R. Buckler
Political/Consular Officer--Michael Bajek
Administrative Officer--Thomas Bovaird
Economic/Commercial Officer--Alexander Bolling
Public Affairs Officer--Peter Piness
Regional Security Officer--Jon Myers
AID Representative--Anne Williams
Peace Corps Director--Joseph Hindman
Defense Attache--Ltc. Dale Flora,  USA
        The US Embassy in Chad is located on Avenue Felix Eboue,
N'Djamena, (tel: [phone] or 235-51-40-09).