Key Events In Chad Since Independence

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2020 ) :The north-central African nation of Chad, which marked 60 years of independence on Tuesday, has a chronic history of instability, including a long-running battle with jihadists - Fledgling state - A former French colony, Chad declares its independence on August 11, 1960 with Francois Tombalbaye as its first president.

From 1965 an armed rebellion begins in the north of the country led by Frolinat (National Liberation Front).

French troops intervene in the conflict several times in support of government forces, as part of its defence accords with the country.

Tombalbaye is assassinated in a coup and Felix Malloum takes over as president in 1975.

- Libya, civil war - Libya, which borders Chad to the north, occupies a contested strip of land in 1973.

A transitional government of national unity led by Goukouni Weddeye and with the backing of Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi, is installed in 1979.

A year later civil war breaks out in the capital between Weddeye supporters and his defence minister Hissene Habre, who seizes power in 1982.

Government forces launch an offensive in the north in 1987 to recapture the region held by Libyan troops. They manage to take back all but the Aouzou Strip, which is finally returned to Chad in 1994, after 21 years of Libyan occupation.

- Habre repression - Habre is in power for eight years -- a period marked by harsh repression in which up to 40,000 people are believed to have been killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured.

Habre is overthrown by his former military advisor Idriss Deby Itno in 1990 and flees to Senegal.

In 2016 the Extraordinary African Chambers court in Senegal sentences Habre to life in prison for war crimes, crimes against humanity and a litany of other charges, including rape.

In April 2020 a judge grants Habre a 60-day release due to the coronavirus. He returns to prison in June, despite his supporters ramping up efforts to have him freed.

- Warrior leader - Deby's nearly 30-year rule has been marked by accusations of electoral fraud and violations of human rights, as well as jihadist attacks in the southwest of the country and fighting over land in the east.

A Muslim like some 53 percent of Chadians, Deby has won support and influence in the West for his contribution to the fight against violent Islamism.

On Tuesday, the National Assembly, where his party has a strong majority, named him Marshal of Chad, the first in his country's history, after he led a counter-offensive against jihadists in April.

Deby has successively postponed legislative elections since April 2011, blaming the threat posed by the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram, a lack of funds in one of the world's most impoverished states, and finally the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The next presidential election is to be held in April 2021, although Deby has not yet announced whether he will run for a sixth term.