Chad-Libya relations
Encyclopedia
Chad–Libya relations have arisen out of centuries of ethnic, religious, and commercial ties.
and Italian
colonial domination, respectively, Chad
and Libya
had diverged in orientation and development. But even after Chad's independence in 1960, many northerners still identified more closely with people in Libya than with the southern-dominated government in N'Djamena. After seizing power in 1969, Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi
reasserted Libya's claim to the Aozou Strip
, a 100,000-square-kilometer portion of northern Chad that included the small town of Aozou. Libya based its claim on one of several preindependence agreements regarding colonial boundaries, and it bolstered these claims by stationing troops in the Aozou Strip beginning in 1972.
Gaddafi's desire to annex the Aozou Strip grew out of an array of concerns, including the region's reported mineral wealth, including uranium
. He also hoped to establish a friendly government in Chad and to extend Islamic influence into the Sahel
through Chad and Sudan, with the eventual aim of a Central African Islamic empire.
Chad's president Hissène Habré
was vigorously helped by the ex colonial power, France, which desired to put a limit on Libya's expansion projects in an area with close ties with Paris. French support included sending troops
to combat the Libyans in Chadian territory. In doing so, France was politically backed by the United States, also concerned with the increasing expansionism of Gaddafi.
A complex set of symbolic interests also underlay Libya's pursuit of territory and influence in the Sahel. Gaddafi's anticolonial and antiimperialist rhetoric vacillated between attacks on the United States
and a campaign focused on the postcolonial European presence in Africa. He hoped to weaken Chad's ties with the West and thereby reduce Africa's incorporation into the Western-dominated nation-state system. Forcing the revision of one of the colonially devised boundaries affirmed by the OAU in 1963 was a step in this direction—one that seemed possible in the context of the troubled nation of Chad, which OAU members dubbed the continent's "weakest link."
Steadily, relations among the two countries improved, with Gaddafi giving signs that he wanted to normalize relations with the Chadian government, to the point of recognizing that the war had been an error. In May 1988 the Libyan leader declared he would recognize Habré as the legitimate president of Chad "as a gift to Africa"; this led on 3 October to the resumption of full diplomatic relations between the two countries. The following year, on 31 August 1989, Chadian and Libyan representatives met in Algiers
to negotiate the Framework Agreement on the Peaceful Settlement of the Territorial Dispute, by which Gaddafi agreed to discuss with Habré the Aouzou Strip and to bring the issue to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) for a binding ruling if bilateral talks failed. Therefore, after a year of inconclusive talks, the sides submitted in September 1990 the dispute to the ICJ.
Chadian-Libyan relations were further ameliorated when Libyan-supported Idriss Déby
unseated Habré on 2 December. Gaddafi was the first head of state to recognize the new regime, and he also signed treaties of friendship and cooperation on various levels; but regarding the Aouzou Strip Déby followed his predecessor, declaring that if necessary he would fight to keep the strip out of Libya's hands.
that the Aouzou Strip belonged to Chad. The court's judgement was implemented without delay, the two parties signing as early as 4 April an agreement concerning the practical modalities for the implementation of the judgement. Monitored by international observers, the withdrawal of Libyan troops from the Strip began on 15 April and was completed by 10 May. The formal and final transfer of the Strip from Libya to Chad took place on 30 May, when the sides signed a joint declaration stating that the Libyan withdrawal had been effected.
On 9 August 2009, teams of ministers from Chad and Libya agreed seven deals intended to increase measures relating to security and trade as well as improve political co-operation between the nations. Chadian Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas
and Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi
led the ministerial negotiations. Elsewhere and Chadian President Idriss Déby
and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
came together on such as issues as saving the rapidly shrinking Lake Chad
and working out how the African Union
could become more involved in negotiating conflicts of African importance. In a further development, the Saif al-Islam Gaddafi-led Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations and Development, writing in the Oya
newspaper, detailed further its intentions to resettle refugees from Chad in Libya and issued thanks to those who had assisted.
1960s
Under FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
colonial domination, respectively, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
had diverged in orientation and development. But even after Chad's independence in 1960, many northerners still identified more closely with people in Libya than with the southern-dominated government in N'Djamena. After seizing power in 1969, Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
reasserted Libya's claim to the Aozou Strip
Aozou Strip
The Aouzou Strip is a strip of land in northern Chad which lies along the border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region for an area of 114,000 km²...
, a 100,000-square-kilometer portion of northern Chad that included the small town of Aozou. Libya based its claim on one of several preindependence agreements regarding colonial boundaries, and it bolstered these claims by stationing troops in the Aozou Strip beginning in 1972.
Gaddafi's desire to annex the Aozou Strip grew out of an array of concerns, including the region's reported mineral wealth, including uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
. He also hoped to establish a friendly government in Chad and to extend Islamic influence into the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
through Chad and Sudan, with the eventual aim of a Central African Islamic empire.
Chad's president Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...
was vigorously helped by the ex colonial power, France, which desired to put a limit on Libya's expansion projects in an area with close ties with Paris. French support included sending troops
Operation Manta
Operation Manta is the code name for the French military intervention in Chad between 1983 and 1984, during the Chadian-Libyan conflict. The operation was prompted by the invasion of Chad by a joint force of Libyan units and Chadian Transitional Government of National Unity rebels in June 1983...
to combat the Libyans in Chadian territory. In doing so, France was politically backed by the United States, also concerned with the increasing expansionism of Gaddafi.
A complex set of symbolic interests also underlay Libya's pursuit of territory and influence in the Sahel. Gaddafi's anticolonial and antiimperialist rhetoric vacillated between attacks on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and a campaign focused on the postcolonial European presence in Africa. He hoped to weaken Chad's ties with the West and thereby reduce Africa's incorporation into the Western-dominated nation-state system. Forcing the revision of one of the colonially devised boundaries affirmed by the OAU in 1963 was a step in this direction—one that seemed possible in the context of the troubled nation of Chad, which OAU members dubbed the continent's "weakest link."
1970s
Gaddafi attempted alliances with a number of antigovernment rebel leaders in Chad during the 1970s, including Goukouni, Siddick, Acyl Ahmat (a Chadian of Arab descent), and Kamougué, a southerner. Goukouni and Acyl were most sympathetic to Gaddafi's regional ambitions, but these two men clashed in 1979, leading Acyl to form the CDR. After Acyl's death in 1982, Libyan support swung strongly to Goukouni's GUNT.1980s
By mid-1988 Gaddafi appeared more willing to come to an agreement with Habré than to continue to support Gaddafi's fractious allies, who had suffered losses at Habré's hands. Chadian and Libyan foreign ministers met in August 1988, and the two governments agreed to further talks. At the same time, Libyan troops remained in the Aozou Strip.Steadily, relations among the two countries improved, with Gaddafi giving signs that he wanted to normalize relations with the Chadian government, to the point of recognizing that the war had been an error. In May 1988 the Libyan leader declared he would recognize Habré as the legitimate president of Chad "as a gift to Africa"; this led on 3 October to the resumption of full diplomatic relations between the two countries. The following year, on 31 August 1989, Chadian and Libyan representatives met in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
to negotiate the Framework Agreement on the Peaceful Settlement of the Territorial Dispute, by which Gaddafi agreed to discuss with Habré the Aouzou Strip and to bring the issue to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(ICJ) for a binding ruling if bilateral talks failed. Therefore, after a year of inconclusive talks, the sides submitted in September 1990 the dispute to the ICJ.
Chadian-Libyan relations were further ameliorated when Libyan-supported Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby
General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...
unseated Habré on 2 December. Gaddafi was the first head of state to recognize the new regime, and he also signed treaties of friendship and cooperation on various levels; but regarding the Aouzou Strip Déby followed his predecessor, declaring that if necessary he would fight to keep the strip out of Libya's hands.
1990s
The Aouzou dispute was concluded for good on 3 February 1994, when the judges of the ICJ by a majority of 16 to 1 decidedCase Concerning the Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad)
The Case Concerning the Territorial Dispute was brought before the International Court of Justice in 1994 and decided by the court in 1994. The case was won by Chad, whose sovereignty over Aouzou Strip was affirmed .-External links:*...
that the Aouzou Strip belonged to Chad. The court's judgement was implemented without delay, the two parties signing as early as 4 April an agreement concerning the practical modalities for the implementation of the judgement. Monitored by international observers, the withdrawal of Libyan troops from the Strip began on 15 April and was completed by 10 May. The formal and final transfer of the Strip from Libya to Chad took place on 30 May, when the sides signed a joint declaration stating that the Libyan withdrawal had been effected.
2000s
In October 2007, four rebel groups in Chad signed a peace deal with their country's government, with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi hosting the talks. The presidents of Chad and Sudan were present to witness this as well.On 9 August 2009, teams of ministers from Chad and Libya agreed seven deals intended to increase measures relating to security and trade as well as improve political co-operation between the nations. Chadian Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Youssouf Saleh Abbas is a Chadian political figure who was Prime Minister of Chad from April 2008 to March 2010. He was previously a diplomatic adviser and special representative of President Idriss Déby.-Political career:...
and Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi
Baghdadi Mahmudi
Baghdadi Ali Mahmudi was Secretary of the General People's Committee of Libya from 5 March 2006 to as late as 1 September 2011, when he acknowledged the collapse of the GPCO and the ascendance of the National Transitional Council as a result of the Libyan civil war...
led the ministerial negotiations. Elsewhere and Chadian President Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby
General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...
and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
came together on such as issues as saving the rapidly shrinking Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
and working out how the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
could become more involved in negotiating conflicts of African importance. In a further development, the Saif al-Islam Gaddafi-led Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations and Development, writing in the Oya
Oya
In Yoruba mythology, Oya , is the Undergoddess of the Niger River. Oya has been syncretized in Santería with the Catholic images of the Virgin of Candelaria.-Aspects:...
newspaper, detailed further its intentions to resettle refugees from Chad in Libya and issued thanks to those who had assisted.