Jacques Doumro
Encyclopedia
Jacques Doumro was a Chad
ian general during the Tombalbaye Regime
.
Doumro joined the French Army
when he was nineteen years old, and fought in the Second World War
, becoming a non-commissioned officer
in the French Colonial Forces
. With the independepndence of his country in 1960 Doumro made a rapid career, becoming General and Chief-of-Staff of the Chadian Armed Forces
.
Doumro gained popularity, especially among students, for his firm stand against the President
François Tombalbaye
regarding the question of the modernization of the army and the recruitment and establishment of a professional corps; so when the students of the Felix Eboué High School demonstrated in November 1971 in the capital against the government, a prevalent slogan was a call for Doumro to take power: "Vive l'Armee, vive le General Doumro", raising for the first time the spectre of the entry of the military into the political scene.
Doumro paid for the willingness shown to be flexible and to listen to the students complaints; once the demonstrations had ceased, Tombalbaye removed Doumro from his post and put him under house arrest
, replacing him with the Colonel Félix Malloum
. Many purges in the military followed, and Doumro was arrested a second time between 1973 and 1975. These constant purges eventually brought to Tombalbaye's fall, that was killed in 1975
in a military coup.
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 general during the Tombalbaye Regime
The Tombalbaye Regime
President François Tombalbaye faced a task of considerable magnitude when Chad became a sovereign state in 1960. His challenge was to build a nation out of a vast and diverse territory that had poor communications, few known resources, a tiny market, and a collection of impoverished people with...
.
Doumro joined the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
when he was nineteen years old, and fought in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, becoming a non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
in the French Colonial Forces
French Colonial Forces
The French Colonial Forces , commonly called La Coloniale, was a general designation for the military forces that garrisoned in the French colonial empire from the late 17th century until 1960. They were recruited from mainland France or from the French settler and indigenous populations of the...
. With the independepndence of his country in 1960 Doumro made a rapid career, becoming General and Chief-of-Staff of the Chadian Armed Forces
Chadian Armed Forces
The Chadian Armed Forces were the army of the central government of Chad from 1960 to 1979, under the southern presidents François Tombalbaye and Félix Malloum, until the downfall of the latter in 1979, when the head of the gendarmerie, Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, assumed command...
.
Doumro gained popularity, especially among students, for his firm stand against the 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...
regarding the question of the modernization of the army and the recruitment and establishment of a professional corps; so when the students of the Felix Eboué High School demonstrated in November 1971 in the capital against the government, a prevalent slogan was a call for Doumro to take power: "Vive l'Armee, vive le General Doumro", raising for the first time the spectre of the entry of the military into the political scene.
Doumro paid for the willingness shown to be flexible and to listen to the students complaints; once the demonstrations had ceased, Tombalbaye removed Doumro from his post and put him under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
, replacing him with the Colonel 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...
. Many purges in the military followed, and Doumro was arrested a second time between 1973 and 1975. These constant purges eventually brought to Tombalbaye's fall, that was killed in 1975
Chadian coup of 1975
The Chadian coup of 1975 was in considerable part generated by the growing distrust of the President of Chad, François Tombalbaye, for the army. This distrust came in part from the Chadian Armed Forces incapacity to deal with the rebellion that was inflaming the Muslim north from when the rebel...
in a military coup.