Editing History of Chad (section)

==Idriss Déby era (1990–2021)==

===Rise to power===
Rivalry between [[Hadjerai]], [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]] and [[Gorane]] groups within the government grew in the late 1980s. In April 1989, [[Idriss Déby]], 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, [[1990 Chadian coup d'état|Déby's forces successfully marched on N’Djamena]]. After 3 months of provisional government, Déby's [[Patriotic Salvation Movement]] (MPS) approved a national charter on February 28, 1991, with Déby as president.

During the next two years, Déby faced at least two coup attempts. Government forces clashed violently with rebel forces, including the Movement for Democracy and Development, MDD, National Revival Committee for Peace and Democracy (CSNPD), Chadian National Front (FNT) and the Western Armed Forces (FAO), near [[Lake Chad]] and in southern regions of the country. Earlier French demands for the country to hold a National Conference resulted in the gathering of 750 delegates representing political parties (which were legalized in 1992), the government, trade unions and the army to discuss the creation of a pluralist democratic regime.

However, unrest continued, 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 [[Armed Forces for a Federal Republic]] (FARF) led by former Kette ally [[Laokein Barde]] and the Democratic Front for Renewal (FDR), and a reformulated MDD clashed with government forces from 1994 to 1995.

===Multiparty elections===
{{see also|Elections in Chad}}
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.

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 rebels from the National Front of Chad (FNT) and Movement for Social Justice and Democracy 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.

Since October 1998 Chadian Movement for Justice and Democracy (MDJT) rebels, led by [[Youssuf Togoimi]] until his death in September 2002, have skirmished with government troops in the Tibesti region, resulting in hundreds of civilian, government, and rebel casualties, but little ground won or lost. No active armed opposition has emerged in other parts of Chad, although Kette Moise, following senior postings at the Ministry of Interior, mounted a smallscale local operation near [[Moundou]] which was quickly and violently suppressed by government forces in late 2000.

Déby, in the mid-1990s, gradually restored basic functions of government and entered into agreements with the [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] to carry out substantial economic reforms. Oil exploitation in the southern Doba region began in June 2000, with World Bank Board approval to finance a small portion of a project, the [[Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development Project]], aimed at transport of Chadian crude through a 1000-km buried pipeline through Cameroon to the [[Gulf of Guinea]]. The project established unique mechanisms for World Bank, private sector, government, and civil society collaboration to guarantee that future oil revenues benefit local populations and result in poverty alleviation. Success of the project depended on multiple monitoring efforts<ref>International Advisory Group, External Compliance Monitoring Group, Collège de Contrôle et de Surveillance des Revenues Pétroliers (CCSRP),  World Bank Inspection Panel, Comité Technique National de Suivi et de Contrôle (CTNSC).</ref> to ensure that all parties keep their commitments. These "unique" mechanisms for monitoring and revenue management have faced intense criticism from the beginning.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://crs.org/publications/showpdf.cfm?pdf_id=187|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208080840/http://crs.org/publications/showpdf.cfm?pdf_id=187|url-status=dead|title=Gary, Ian (Catholic Relief Services) and Nikki Reisch (Bank Information Center). Chad's Oil: Miracle or Mirage?|archive-date=February 8, 2009}}</ref> Debt relief was accorded to Chad in May 2001.

Déby won a flawed 63% first-round victory in May 2001 presidential elections after legislative elections were postponed until spring 2002. Having accused the government of fraud, 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 abuses by the security forces, opposition party and labor union calls for general strikes and more active demonstrations against the government have been unsuccessful. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy.

In 2003 Chad began receiving refugees from the [[Darfur]] region of western Sudan. More than 200,000 refugees fled the fighting between two rebel groups and government-supported militias known as [[Janjaweed]]. A number of border incidents led to the [[Chadian–Sudanese War]].

===Oil producing and military improvement===
Chad became an oil producer in 2003. To avoid [[resource curse]] and corruption, elaborate plans sponsored by World Bank were made. This plan ensured transparency in payments, as well as that 80% of money from oil exports would be spent on five priority development sectors, two most important of these being: education and healthcare. However money started getting diverted towards the military even before the [[Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)|civil war]] broke out. In 2006 when the [[Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)|civil war]] escalated, Chad abandoned previous economic plans sponsored by [[World Bank]] and added "national security" as priority development sector, money from this sector was used to improve the military. During the [[Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)|civil war]], more than 600 million dollars were used to buy fighter jets, attack helicopters, and armored personnel carriers.

Chad earned between 10 and 11&nbsp;billion dollars from oil production, and estimated 4&nbsp;billion dollars were invested in the army.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Hicks|first=Celeste|date=2015|title=Chad and the West: Shifting Security Burden?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep06548|journal=Africa Policy Brief|volume=|pages=1–2|JSTOR=resrep06548}}</ref>

===War in the east===
{{main|Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)}}
[[Image:Civil war in Chad.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Hot spots in the civil war]]
The war started on December 23, 2005, when the [[Politics of Chad|government of Chad]] declared a state of war with Sudan and called for the citizens of Chad to mobilize themselves against the "common enemy,"<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4556576.stm Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan] by Stephanie Hancock, BBC News.</ref> which the Chadian government sees as the [[Rally for Democracy and Liberty]] (RDL) militants, Chadian rebels, backed by the Sudanese government, and Sudanese militiamen. Militants have attacked villages and towns in eastern Chad, stealing cattle, murdering citizens, and burning houses. Over 200,000 refugees from the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan currently claim asylum in eastern Chad. Chadian president [[Idriss Déby]] accuses Sudanese President [[Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir]] of trying to "destabilize our country, to drive our people into misery, to create disorder and export the war from Darfur to Chad."

An attack on the Chadian town of [[Adre, Chad|Adre]] near the Sudanese border led to the deaths of either one hundred rebels, as every news source other than CNN has reported, or three hundred rebels. The Sudanese government was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4544352.stm Chad fightback 'kills 300 rebels'], BBC News</ref> but Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman [[Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim]] denies any Sudanese involvement, "We are not for any escalation with Chad. We technically deny involvement in Chadian internal affairs." This attack was the final straw that led to the declaration of war by Chad and the alleged deployment of the Chadian airforce into Sudanese airspace, which the Chadian government denies.<ref>Al Jazeera</ref>

An attack on N'Djamena was defeated on April 13, 2006, in the [[Battle of N'Djamena (2006)|Battle of N'Djamena]]. The President on national radio stated that the situation was under control, but residents, diplomats and journalists reportedly heard shots of weapons fire.

On November 25, 2006, rebels captured the eastern town of [[Abeche]], capital of the [[Ouaddaï Region]] and center for humanitarian aid to the [[Darfur]] region in [[Sudan]]. On the same day, a separate rebel group [[Rally of Democratic Forces]] had captured [[Biltine, Chad|Biltine]]. On November 26, 2006, the Chadian government claimed to have recaptured both towns, although rebels still claimed control of Biltine. Government buildings and humanitarian aid offices in Abeche were said to have been looted. The Chadian government denied a warning issued by the French Embassy in [[N'Djamena]] that a group of rebels was making its way through the [[Batha Prefecture]] in central Chad. Chad insists that both rebel groups are supported by the Sudanese government.<ref>{{cite news | title= Chad denies rebel move on capital| date=November 26, 2006 | publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6185074.stm }}</ref>

===International orphanage scandal===
Nearly 100 children at the center of an international scandal that left them stranded at an orphanage in remote eastern Chad returned home after nearly five months March 14, 2008. The 97 children were taken from their homes in October 2007 by a then-obscure French charity, [[Zoé's Ark]], which claimed they were orphans from [[Sudan]]'s [[War in Darfur|war-torn Darfur region]].<ref>{{cite news | title=  Kidnapped Chadian kids reunited with their families| date=March 14, 2008 | publisher=[[CNN]] | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/03/14/chad.children/index.html }}</ref>

===Rebel attack on Ndjamena===
{{main|Battle of N'Djamena (2008)}}
On Friday, February 1, 2008, rebels, an opposition alliance of leaders [[Mahamat Nouri]], a former defense minister, and [[Timane Erdimi]], a nephew of [[Idriss Déby]] who was his chief of staff, attacked the Chadian capital of [[Ndjamena]] – even surrounding the Presidential Palace. But Idris Deby with government troops fought back. French forces flew in ammunition for Chadian government troops but took no active part in the fighting. UN has said that up to 20,000 people left the region, taking refuge in nearby Cameroon and Nigeria. Hundreds of people were killed, mostly civilians. The rebels accuse Deby of corruption and embezzling millions in oil revenue. While many Chadians may share that assessment, the uprising appears to be a power struggle within the elite that has long controlled Chad. The French government believes that the opposition has regrouped east of the capital. Déby has blamed Sudan for the current unrest in Chad.<ref>{{cite news | title=  Chad's leader asserts he is control| date=February 6, 2008 | publisher=[[Associated Press|AP]] | url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080206/ap_on_re_af/chad }}</ref>

===Regional interventionism===
{{further|Insurgency in Chad (2016–present)}}

During the Déby era Chad intervened in conflicts in [[Mali War|Mali]], [[Central African Republic Civil War|Central African Republic]], [[Boko Haram insurgency|Niger and Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Brachet| first1 = Julien| last2 = Scheele| first2 = Judith| title = The Value of Disorder : Autonomy, Prosperity, and Plunder in the Chadian Sahara| publisher = Cambridge University Press| date = 2019| location = Cambridge| pages = 293–308| doi = 10.1017/9781108566315| isbn=9781108566315| s2cid = 181557618}}</ref>

In 2013, Chad sent 2000 men from [[Military of Chad|its military]] to help France in [[Operation Serval]] during the [[Mali War]]. Later in the same year Chad sent 850 troops to Central African Republic to help peacekeeping operation MISCA, those troops withdrew in April 2014 after allegations of human rights violations.<ref name=":1" />

During the [[Boko Haram insurgency]], Chad multiple times sent troops to assist the fight against [[Boko Haram]] in Niger and [[Nigeria]].

In August 2018,  rebel fighters of the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (CCMSR) attacked government forces in northern Chad. Chad experienced threats from jihadists fleeing the Libyan conflict. Chad had been an ally of the West in the fight against Islamist militants in West Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 24, 2018|title=Fighters from new rebel group attack Chad soldiers at Libya border|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chad-security-idUSKCN1L91UC|access-date=2021-05-13}}</ref>

In January 2019, after 47 years, Chad restored diplomatic relations with Israel. It was announced during a visit to N’Djamena by Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 10, 2020|title=Chad denies talk of 'possible opening' of embassy in Jerusalem|url=https://www.theafricareport.com/41205/chad-denies-talk-of-possible-opening-of-embassy-in-jerusalem/|access-date=2021-05-13|website=The Africa Report.com|language=en-US}}</ref>