Ibrahim Abatcha
Encyclopedia
Ibrahim Abatcha was a Muslim
Chad
ian politician reputed of Marxist leanings and associations. His political activity started during the decolonization process of Chad from France, but after the country's independence he was forced to go in exile due to the increasing authoritarism of the country's first President François Tombalbaye
. To overthrow Tombalbaye he founded in Sudan
in 1966 the FROLINAT
, of which he was the first leader and field commander. Two years later he was killed in a clash with the Chadian Army.
(a province of the British colony
of Nigeria
), Abatcha was born from a Muslim-background in the French colony of Chad
at Fort-Lamy
(today N'Djamena) in 1938, and learned to speak French, English and Chadian Arabic
, but not to write Classical Arabic
, as he did not study in a Qur'anic school
. He found work as a clerk in the colonial administration and became a militant trade union
ist.
He entered in politics in 1958, becoming a prominent figure in the new radical Chadian National Union
(UNT), mainly a split from the African Socialist Movement
(MSA) by promoters of the No-vote in the referendum on Chad's entry in the French Community
. The party's followers were all Muslims, and advocated Pan-Africanism
and socialism. Towards the end of the colonial rule Abatcha was jailed for a year either for his political activities or for mismanadgement in the expletion of his duties.
He and his party staunchly opposed after independence in 1960 the rule of President
François Tombalbaye
, and the UNT was banned with all other opposition parties on January 19, 1962. After that Abatcha was briefly imprisoned by the new Chadian government.
, Ghana
, where he was later joined by UNT members Aboubakar Djalabo and Mahamat Ali Taher. By going in exile the UNT members meant also to ensure their personal safety and organize abroad an armed revolt in Chad. As part of the means to kept the unity of the movement, Abatcha wrote for the UNT a policy statement; this draft was to be the core of the official program of the FROLINAT
.
Abatcha led the typical life of the Third World
dissident in search of support in foreign capitals, first finishing in Accra
, Ghana
, where he received his first military training and made friends among members of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
that had found asylum there. These Cameroonians helped him being present at conferences organized by international communist groups.
After having left Accra in 1965, Abatcha started wandering to other Africa
n capitals always searching support for his project of beginning an insurgency against Tombalbaye. The first capital he reached was in 1965 Algiers, where the UNT had already a representative, probably Djalabo. His attempts were unsuccessful, as were those made from there to persuade the Chadian students in France to join him in his fight. From there he moved to Cairo
, where a small secret committee of anti-government Chadian students of the Al-Azhar University
: the students there had developed a strong political sensitivity because they had come to resent that the degrees obtained by them in Arab countries were of no use in Chad, as French was the only official language. Among these Abatcha recruited his first supporters, and with the help of the UPC Cameroonian exiles contacted the North Korea
n embassy in Egypt, which offered him a military stage. Seven Cairo students volunteered, leaving Egypt in June 1965 and returning in October; these were to be with Abatcha the first military cadres of the rebels. Abatcha with his "Koreans" moved then to Sudan in October 1965.
Once in Sudan Abatcha found a rich ground for further recruitment, as many Chadian refugees lived there. Abatcha was also able to obtain to enroll in his movement former Sudanese soldiers
, including a few officers, of whom the most distinguished was to become Hadjaro Senoussi. He also took contact with Mohamed Baghlani
, who was in communication with the first Chadian insurgents
already active, and with the insurgent group Liberation Front of Chad
(FLT).
between June 19 and June 22, 1966 by which the UNT and another rebel force, the Liberation Front of Chad
(FLT), giving origin to the FROLINAT
, whose first secretary-general was proclaimed Abatcha. The two groups were ideologically ill-fitted, as they combined the radicalism of the UNT and the Muslim confessionalism of the FLT. FLT's president, Ahmed Hassan Musa
, missed the conference because in jail in Khartoum
; Musa suspected with some reason that Abatcha had deliberately chosen the moment of his imprisonment to organize the conference due to his fear of FLT's numerical superiority over the UNT. As a result, once freed Musa broke with the FROLINAT, the first of many splits that were to plague the history of the organization. Thus it must not be found surprising that Abatcha had to face from the beginning a level of considerable internal strife, with the opposition guided by the anti-communist Mohamed Baghlani
.
The unity was stronger on the field, with Abatcha and his so-called Koreans passing to Eastern Chad in mid-1966 to fight the government, and El Hadj Issaka assuming the role of his chief-of-staff. While his maquis
were badly trained and equipped, they were able to commit some hit-and-run attacks
against the Chadian army, mainly in Ouaddai
, but also in Guera
and Salamat
. The rebels also toured the villages, indoctrinating the people on the future revolution and exhorting youths to join the FROLINAT forces.
The following year Abatcha expanded his range and number of operations, officially claiming in his dispatches 32 actions, involving prefectures
yet untouched by the rebellion, that is Moyen-Chari
and Kanem
. Mainly due to Abatcha's qualities as both secretary-general and field-commander, what had started in 1965 as a peasant uprising was becoming a revolutionary movement.
On January 20, 1968 his men killed on the Goz Beida
-Abéché
road a Spanish veterinary and a French doctor, while they took hostage a French nurse. Abatcha disavowed this action and ordered to free the nurse, but precisely in these circumstances, on February 11, he was tracked down by the Chadian army and killed in a clash.
Abatcha's death was the end of an important phase in the history of the FROLINAT and more generally of the rebellion
. Abatcha had been the one generally acceptable leader of the insurrection; after him the FROLINAT will be more and more divided by inner rivalries, making it hardly possible to provide the insurgents with a coherent organization.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
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...
ian politician reputed of Marxist leanings and associations. His political activity started during the decolonization process of Chad from France, but after the country's independence he was forced to go in exile due to the increasing authoritarism of the country's first President François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye, also called Ngarta Tombalbaye , was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. He was born in the southern region of the country in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture near the city of Koumara and was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity...
. To overthrow Tombalbaye he founded in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
in 1966 the FROLINAT
FROLINAT
-Origins:The organization was born as the result of a political union between the leftist Chadian National Union , led by Ibrahim Abatcha, and the General Union of the Children of Chad which was led by Ahmed Hassan Musa. Musa was close to the Muslim Brotherhood and was an Islamist...
, of which he was the first leader and field commander. Two years later he was killed in a clash with the Chadian Army.
Early career
Originary of BornoBorno State
Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State...
(a province of the British colony
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
), Abatcha was born from a Muslim-background in the French colony 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...
at Fort-Lamy
N'Djamena
N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...
(today N'Djamena) in 1938, and learned to speak French, English and Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages. "Shuwa Arabic" properly refers only to its Nigerian dialects, and even then, it is a term not used by the speakers themselves...
, but not to write Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
, as he did not study in a Qur'anic school
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
. He found work as a clerk in the colonial administration and became a militant trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist.
He entered in politics in 1958, becoming a prominent figure in the new radical Chadian National Union
Chadian National Union
The Chadian National Union was a radical Muslim political party founded in 1958 in Chad by Issa Dana, Mahamut Outman and Abba Siddick. Created to lobby the NO-vote to the referendum on Chad's entry in the French Community, the party advocated drastic political reforms, to be achieved if necessary...
(UNT), mainly a split from the African Socialist Movement
African Socialist Movement
African Socialist Movement was a political party in French West Africa. The MSA was formed following a meeting of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière federations of Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, French Sudan , Gabon, Guinea, Niger, Oubangui-Chari , and Senegal; the...
(MSA) by promoters of the No-vote in the referendum on Chad's entry in the French Community
French Community
The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946....
. The party's followers were all Muslims, and advocated Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
and socialism. Towards the end of the colonial rule Abatcha was jailed for a year either for his political activities or for mismanadgement in the expletion of his duties.
He and his party staunchly opposed after independence in 1960 the rule of President
Heads of state of Chad
-List of Heads of State of Chad:-Affiliations:-External links:**...
François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye, also called Ngarta Tombalbaye , was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. He was born in the southern region of the country in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture near the city of Koumara and was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity...
, and the UNT was banned with all other opposition parties on January 19, 1962. After that Abatcha was briefly imprisoned by the new Chadian government.
In exile
After his release, the UNT cadres decided that if the political situation in Chad became too unbearable to consent the party to survive, it would have been wise to send out of the country some party members so that the organization would in any case maintain its existence. Thus Abatcha, who held the position of second adjutant secretary-general of the UNT, was sent in 1963 to AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, where he was later joined by UNT members Aboubakar Djalabo and Mahamat Ali Taher. By going in exile the UNT members meant also to ensure their personal safety and organize abroad an armed revolt in Chad. As part of the means to kept the unity of the movement, Abatcha wrote for the UNT a policy statement; this draft was to be the core of the official program of the FROLINAT
FROLINAT
-Origins:The organization was born as the result of a political union between the leftist Chadian National Union , led by Ibrahim Abatcha, and the General Union of the Children of Chad which was led by Ahmed Hassan Musa. Musa was close to the Muslim Brotherhood and was an Islamist...
.
Abatcha led the typical life of the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
dissident in search of support in foreign capitals, first finishing in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, where he received his first military training and made friends among members of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon is a political party in Cameroon.-History:UPC was founded on April 10, 1948, at a meeting in the bar Chez Sierra in Bassa. 12 men assisted the founding meeting, including Charles Assalé, Léonard Bouli, and Guillaume Bagal. The majority of the participants were...
that had found asylum there. These Cameroonians helped him being present at conferences organized by international communist groups.
After having left Accra in 1965, Abatcha started wandering to other Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n capitals always searching support for his project of beginning an insurgency against Tombalbaye. The first capital he reached was in 1965 Algiers, where the UNT had already a representative, probably Djalabo. His attempts were unsuccessful, as were those made from there to persuade the Chadian students in France to join him in his fight. From there he moved to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, where a small secret committee of anti-government Chadian students of the Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
: the students there had developed a strong political sensitivity because they had come to resent that the degrees obtained by them in Arab countries were of no use in Chad, as French was the only official language. Among these Abatcha recruited his first supporters, and with the help of the UPC Cameroonian exiles contacted the North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n embassy in Egypt, which offered him a military stage. Seven Cairo students volunteered, leaving Egypt in June 1965 and returning in October; these were to be with Abatcha the first military cadres of the rebels. Abatcha with his "Koreans" moved then to Sudan in October 1965.
Once in Sudan Abatcha found a rich ground for further recruitment, as many Chadian refugees lived there. Abatcha was also able to obtain to enroll in his movement former Sudanese soldiers
Military of Sudan
The Sudanese Armed Forces numbers, according to 2007 IISS estimates, 104,800 members supported by 17,500 paramilitary personnel.It comprises Land Forces, a Navy, an Air Force, and the Popular Defence Force. It has also formed Joint Integrated Units with its rebel enemies the Sudan People's...
, including a few officers, of whom the most distinguished was to become Hadjaro Senoussi. He also took contact with Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani was a Chadian insurgent leader during the Chadian Civil War.-Formation of FROLINAT:Baghlani was the most prominent Arab member of the Chadian National Union , an Islamic political party founded in 1958 and officially banned by the government of Chad in 1962. It survived as an...
, who was in communication with the first Chadian insurgents
Chadian Civil War
The Transitional Government of National Unity was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running civil war that began in 1965. The GUNT replaced the fragile alliance led by Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré,...
already active, and with the insurgent group Liberation Front of Chad
Liberation Front of Chad
The Liberation Front of Chad was an insurgent group active between 1965 and 1976 during the first phase of the Chadian Civil War....
(FLT).
Creation of the FROLINAT
This union was attained during the congress at NyalaNyala, Sudan
Nyala is the capital of South Darfur state in the western part of the Sudan. Nyala is located at elevation 2,208 feet in the Darfur historical region.- History :...
between June 19 and June 22, 1966 by which the UNT and another rebel force, the Liberation Front of Chad
Liberation Front of Chad
The Liberation Front of Chad was an insurgent group active between 1965 and 1976 during the first phase of the Chadian Civil War....
(FLT), giving origin to the FROLINAT
FROLINAT
-Origins:The organization was born as the result of a political union between the leftist Chadian National Union , led by Ibrahim Abatcha, and the General Union of the Children of Chad which was led by Ahmed Hassan Musa. Musa was close to the Muslim Brotherhood and was an Islamist...
, whose first secretary-general was proclaimed Abatcha. The two groups were ideologically ill-fitted, as they combined the radicalism of the UNT and the Muslim confessionalism of the FLT. FLT's president, Ahmed Hassan Musa
Ahmed Hassan Musa
Ahmed Hassan Musa was a Chadian insurgent who participated to the first phase of the Chadian Civil War. An islamic fundamentalist close to the Muslim Brotherhood, he was head of the General Union of the Children of Chad , an islamic political party formed by Chadian exiles in Sudan...
, missed the conference because in jail in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
; Musa suspected with some reason that Abatcha had deliberately chosen the moment of his imprisonment to organize the conference due to his fear of FLT's numerical superiority over the UNT. As a result, once freed Musa broke with the FROLINAT, the first of many splits that were to plague the history of the organization. Thus it must not be found surprising that Abatcha had to face from the beginning a level of considerable internal strife, with the opposition guided by the anti-communist Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani was a Chadian insurgent leader during the Chadian Civil War.-Formation of FROLINAT:Baghlani was the most prominent Arab member of the Chadian National Union , an Islamic political party founded in 1958 and officially banned by the government of Chad in 1962. It survived as an...
.
The unity was stronger on the field, with Abatcha and his so-called Koreans passing to Eastern Chad in mid-1966 to fight the government, and El Hadj Issaka assuming the role of his chief-of-staff. While his maquis
Maquis
Maquis or macchia is a type of high ground in Corsica covered in thick vegetation, where privateers used to hide. The name has been adopted by a variety of guerilla movements in francophone countries.Maquis may also refer to:-Geography:...
were badly trained and equipped, they were able to commit some hit-and-run attacks
Hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
against the Chadian army, mainly in Ouaddai
Ouaddaï Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Ouaddaï was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the east of the country, Ouaddaï covered an area of 76,240 square kilometers and had a population of 543,900 in 1993. Its...
, but also in Guera
Guéra Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Guéra was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Its capital was Mongo...
and Salamat
Salamat Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Salamat was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the southeast of the country, Salamat covered an area of 63,000 square kilometers and had a population of 184,403 in 1993...
. The rebels also toured the villages, indoctrinating the people on the future revolution and exhorting youths to join the FROLINAT forces.
The following year Abatcha expanded his range and number of operations, officially claiming in his dispatches 32 actions, involving 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...
yet untouched by the rebellion, that is Moyen-Chari
Moyen-Chari Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Moyen-Chari was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the south of the country, Moyen-Chari covered an area of 45,180 square kilometers and had a population of 738,595 in 1993....
and Kanem
Kanem Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Kanem was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the west of the country, Kanem covered an area of 114,520 square kilometers and had a population of 279,927 in 1993. Its capital...
. Mainly due to Abatcha's qualities as both secretary-general and field-commander, what had started in 1965 as a peasant uprising was becoming a revolutionary movement.
On January 20, 1968 his men killed on the Goz Beida
Goz Beida
Goz Beida may refer to:*Goz Beïda, Chad*Goz Beida, Central African Republic...
-Abéché
Abéché
-Demographics:Demographic evolution:-References:...
road a Spanish veterinary and a French doctor, while they took hostage a French nurse. Abatcha disavowed this action and ordered to free the nurse, but precisely in these circumstances, on February 11, he was tracked down by the Chadian army and killed in a clash.
Abatcha's death was the end of an important phase in the history of the FROLINAT and more generally of the rebellion
Chadian Civil War
The Transitional Government of National Unity was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running civil war that began in 1965. The GUNT replaced the fragile alliance led by Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré,...
. Abatcha had been the one generally acceptable leader of the insurrection; after him the FROLINAT will be more and more divided by inner rivalries, making it hardly possible to provide the insurgents with a coherent organization.