The Chadian Armed Forces (Forces Armées Tchadiennes or FAT) were the army of the central government of 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...

 from 1960 to 1979, under the southern presidents François Tombalbaye and Félix Malloum

Félix Malloum

General Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi was a Chadian politician from the south. He served as an officer in the Chadian Military and as a member of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party . He later became the Chief of Staff with the rank of colonel...

, until the downfall of the latter in 1979, when the head of the gendarmerie

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

, Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué

Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué

Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué was a Chadian politician and former army officer. Kamougué was a leading figure in the 1975 coup d'état and since then he has held several positions in the Chadian government and legislature. He was Vice-President from 1979 to 1982 and was President of the National...

, assumed command. Joined by gendarmerie units, FAT became a regional force representing primarily the Sara

Sara people

The Sara are an ethnic group in Central Africa, who reside mostly in Chad, making up approximatively 30% of its southern population.-In Chad:...

 ethnic group of the five southern prefectures

Prefectures of Chad

Chad was divided into 14 prefectures from 1960, the year of independence, to 1999, when the country was divided in 28 departments:A further reorganisation in 2002 divided the country into the current 18 regions.NB : Alphabetic order...

. It joined with the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) forces fighting against 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:...

 and was a recipient of aid from 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....

. FAT began to disintegrate during 1982 as a result of defeats inflicted by Habré's Armed Forces of the North

Armed Forces of the North

The Armed Forces of the North was a Chadian rebel army active during the Chadian Civil War. Composed of FROLINAT units that remained loyal to Hissène Habré following his break from Goukouni Oueddei and the CCFAN in 1976...

 (FAN). Most remaining soldiers accepted integration into FAN or resumed their insurgency as codos

Codos

The Codos or Commandos were guerrilla groups, active in southern Chad from 1983 to 1986, that resisted domination of their region by the President Hissène Habré's army. Many were veterans of the government army of the 1970s or Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué's Chadian Armed Forces , which had collapsed...

.