Rebels storm the Chadian capital Ndjamena, the French intervene militarily to save the president, and a diplomatic crisis ensues between Sudan and Chad. Paris, meanwhile, must let history take its course, writes Gamal Nkrumah Last weekend, forces of the Chadian armed opposition group, the United Front for Change, better known for its French acronym FUC, stormed the country's capital Ndjamena. Fierce battles erupted around the parliament building in the northeastern part of the city. The first sign of serious trouble was a complete breakdown of communications. Ndjamena's mobile phone network went down last Wednesday. The Chadian capital was plunged in total darkness. And as in any war zone where chaos and catastrophe loom, there was much consternation over the precise identity of the attackers. French troops took up positions near key Chadian government and French interests buildings. The premeditated attack on Ndjamena, the capital of the impoverished African nation by insurgents based in Sudan's war- torn westernmost province of Darfur, is a mystery because of what it is not. It is neither a tribal squabble nor a coup d'état. Historically, governments in landlocked Chad fell when the capital was over-run by armies based in neighbouring countries. The Chadian authorities claim that 60 per cent of the FUC troops are Sudanese nationals, mercenaries from Darfur. The opposition strongly denies this. It is not hard to see how he usurped power in the first place. His army crossed into the country from Darfur and ousted the government of the former Chadian strongman Hissene Habre. France, the former colonial master of Chad, and most other Western nations seem to prefer Deby to any conceivable alternative. Plenty of African and Western leaders are reluctant to criticise Deby, and there are clear reasons for their queasiness. Many Chadians, on the other hand, are strongly opposed to his rule. His iron grip on power, buttressed by French military hegemony over the country and oil revenues, alienated large segments of the population, including members of his own Zaghawa ethnic group. By far the biggest cause for concern about President Deby is what he is doing to his own country. He has been twice elected, and he is bound to make a clean sweep of the polls in the scheduled 3 May general elections. The Chadian opposition, who are boycotting next month's poll, complain that Deby has removed all the checks and balances that are central to democracy, concentrating power in his own hands. Peace was restored in Chad in 1990 after the ousting from power of Habre. The Zaghawa people at first stood firmly behind their new leader, Deby. His uncanny ability with French military protection and oil wealth to strike deals and deliver bargains confounds his critics. Deby is undoubtedly a powerful interlocutor. From their stronghold in Darfur, the FUC captured Ndjamena and the city was engulfed in fighting and artillery and machine gunfire could be heard throughout the one-million strong city. "French army aircraft have been carrying out a military intervention," said Laona Gong, former Chadian foreign minister and currently FUC's spokesman in France, warned over the weekend. "We deplore the numerous civilian victims of the French bombing of the towns of Adre and Moudeina," he added in a strongly-worded statement in Paris. By Sunday, after French military intervention, the government forces regained control. France, which historically backed Chadian President Idris Deby, said it was adding 150 troops to its contingent of about 1,200 permanently-stationed in Chad. But Paris denies that it took part in the fighting. It says that French troops merely provided logistical support to the Chadian armed forces loyal to Deby. The moot point is debatable. Deby, escorted by French troops, flew to eastern Chadian towns of Abeche and Farchana in the heart of enemy country aboard a French military aircraft on 20 March to inspect the frontline. "The situation is under control," proudly announced General Moussa Harun Tirkwa, head of Chad's national police. Next President Deby confirmed his triumph in a televised statement. Chad, a sprawling country of 10 million people almost the size of Alaska, has an underdeveloped economy and a backwater feel. Political power has been confined to the desert north and arid centre, home to Muslim, albeit predominantly non-Arab tribes. The agriculturally-rich but politically-peripheralised south, is composed of mainly Christian ethnic groups. The Chadian ethnic composition is very similar to Sudan's ethnic mix. The two countries share a 1,000km long common border. And, there are more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad. Chad, however, accused the Sudanese authorities of instigating the latest conflict in Chad, and threatened to forcibly evict the Sudanese refugees from its soil. Ndjamena has long complained that the Darfur conflict might spill over into Chad if left unresolved. The leaders of Chad and Sudan signed a peace agreement on 9 February. However, there is no love lost between Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir and his Chadian counterpart. On 23 December 2005, Chad announced that is was in a state of war with Sudan, but Libyan mediation temporary resolved the crisis between Ndjamena and Khartoum. At any rate, there are striking cultural similarities between Chad and Sudan. The ancient Muslim kingdoms of Chad Kanem, Wadai and Baguirmi were based on a culture that fed on the trans-Saharan slave trade. These were thoroughly Islamised kingdoms that had extensive trade and cultural relations with the Arab world. And although, today, Chad has a large ethnic Arab population and Arabic is the country's second most important foreign language, most of the peoples of the country are not ethnic Arabs. These tribes, Arab and non-Arab, straddle the highly tense border between Chad and Sudan. This week, Chad announced that it severed diplomatic relations with Khartoum. Sudan followed suit. And, in a separate development forces of the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur armed opposition group, promptly captured the premises of the Sudanese Embassy in Ndjamena. They were later kicked out of the embassy grounds by the Chadian authorities. Deby needs help -- though of the military, rather than the economic or political sort. Chadian government troops have deserted the army and defected to join FUC forces. Cabinet ministers, too, have deserted Deby. A 1998 insurgency was led by Youssef Togoimi, Deby's former defence minister. While FUC is the main armed opposition group in Chad today, another group of armed opposition, SCUD, is led by Deby's powerful twin nephews and other relatives and former hangers-on. Chad has a long history of civil war and political instability. The country's first president François Ngarta Tombalbaye was assassinated in a bloody 1975 coup d'état and succeeded by General Felix Malloum who also came to a violent end. Economically-speaking, too, Chad is in dire straits. A World Bank deal was brokered in June 2000 and the bank agreed to construct a pipeline to Chadian oil to neighbouring Cameroon's Atlantic Ocean ports. In return, Chad was to spend 80 per cent of its oil revenues on education, health and social welfare projects. Deby reneged on his promise and the Word Bank suspended its loans and had Chadian bank accounts frozen in retaliation. Chad's neighbours have traditionally intervened in the domestic affairs of the country. Partly, because of the ethnic and tribal factor in Chad is extremely complex and the porous borders mean that tribesmen move freely across the arid country. In 1977, Libya captured the Aouzou Strip, incorporated the remote desert and mountainous region into Libya, and proceeded to launch a full-scale invasion of Chad in 1979. In 1979, 12 armed opposition groups occupied Ndjamena but later started fighting among themselves. Libya, however, has today emerged as a mediator between Khartoum and Ndjamena. A short-lived Libyan-brokered peace deal in 2002 failed to end the fighting between the two neighbouring countries. Chadian insurgents today use Darfur as their base of operation. They have their training camps there and the Sudanese government turns a blind eye. Indeed, the Chadian government has accused the Sudanese authorities of proving safe haven for Chadian armed opposition groups. Deby himself came to power by storming Ndjamena from his military headquarters in Darfur. He cultivated friendly relations with both France and the United States. Deby comfortably won two presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. His Patriotic Salvation Movement maintains a firm grip on power. The Chadian insurgents will most certainly resume the fight if they so choose.
