Mahamat Nouri
Encyclopedia
General Mahamat Nouri is a Chad
ian insurgent leader who currently commands the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
(UFDD). A Muslim from northern Chad, he began his career as a FROLINAT
rebel, and when the group's Second Army split in 1976 he sided with his kinsman Hissène Habré
. As Habré's associate he obtained in 1978 the first of the many ministerial positions in his career, becoming Interior Minister in a coalition government. When Habré reached the presidency in 1982, Nouri was by his side and played an important role in the regime.
Following Habré's downfall in 1990, Nouri passed his allegiance to his successor, Idriss Déby
, under whom he rose once again to great prominence, remaining in the cabinet without interruption from 1995 to 2004. After that he was sent as Chad's ambassador to Saudi Arabia
: while in that country he broke with Déby in 2006, joining armed opposition against him.
Nouri led the creation, from a plurality of armed movements, the most powerful of the Chadian rebel groups, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
(UFDD). He started a series of attacks against government positions in eastern Chad in autumn 2006, causing serious difficulties to Déby. After the ultimate failure of a series of talks held in Libya
in 2007, Nouri coalesced with two other rebel groups and launched a direct attack on the Chadian capital
in February 2008, but was repelled after days of heavy fighting.
subclan like the former President Hissène Habré
, Nouri was born in 1947 in Faya-Largeau
in northern Chad.
Nouri received a formal education and became a postal official. He successively entered in the ranks of the FROLINAT
, the rebel movement that was waging a civil war against the central government. When the Second Army of the FROLINAT divided itself in 1977 among the supporters of Habré and those of Goukouni Oueddei
, Nouri sided with Habré and was one the very few men to be by Habré's side for all the length of the latter's political career. As number 2 of Habré's rebel Armed Forces of the North
(FAN) with the rank of inspector-general, he was given the leadership of the FAN delegation that negotiated the Khartoum peace accord with the Chadian government in 1978. During the coalition government created from this accord between President Félix Malloum
and the former rebel leader Habré, now nominated Prime Minister, Nouri held the decisive post of Minister of the Interior, although he was well known for his low opinion of Southern Chadians. After the collapse of the coalition in February 1979, Nouri became Minister of Transport in the first Goukouni government that followed.
When Habré rebelled against Goukouni in 1980, Nouri was once again by his side, and for this he was tried by a special criminal court and on June 13, 1981, sentenced together with Idriss Miskine
to hard labour
for life, while the leader of the FAN, Habré, was sentenced to death. This did not deter Nouri from returning to prominence when Habré conquered the capital N'Djamena
in 1982: as Habré's right hand, Nouri became the new regime's number 2. In 1984 he was made Commissioner for External Affairs in the Executive Bureau of the country's only legal party, the National Union for Independence and Revolution
(UNIR), and was to eventually obtain the chairmanship of the party.
One of Habré's most seasoned and flexible commanders, he participated to the final phase
of the Chadian-Libyan conflict as commander of the Chadian forces
during the battle of Aouzou in August 1987.
in December 1990, Nouri became a close ally of the new President and a pillar of his regime. In the transitional coalition government formed following the 1993 Sovereign National Conference, Nouri became Minister of Health under Prime Minister Fidèle Moungar
. In 1995, when Koibla Djimasta
was appointed as the last transitional Prime Minister, Nouri was named Minister of the Interior; while holding this post, he also chaired the Commission Nationale Recensement Électoral (CNRE), created in 1995 to organise the voter registration for the first multiparty elections in Chad since independence. Following Déby's victory in the 1996 presidential election
, Nouri was moved from his post as Minister of the Interior to that of Minister for Livestock. He kept the latter post for five years; he left it on February 24, 2001, when he was appointed as Minister of National Defence in the government chaired by Nagoum Yamassoum
. He left his post and the government three years later, during a cabinet reshuffle that took place on February 2, 2004. Nouri's entourage gave ill health as the reason for his departure. He was successively posted for two years to Saudi Arabia
as an ambassador, until he left his position on May 6, 2006.
Nouri stepped down on the eve of the controversial second reelection of Déby
as President, arguing that the country was undergoing one of the gravest crises in its history and that the responsibility for this was exclusively Déby's. He also made clear that while joining the rebellion he had no intention of becoming a member of any existing armed movement. The former ambassador was promptly attacked by the Chadian government, whose spokesman Hourmadji Mousa Doumgor accused him of paying men in Sudan US $250
each to join his the group he was allegedly forming. As a means of weakening Nouri's Gorane power-base, it was reported that in August the Chadian government started arming the Kamaya Gorane subclan, historically rivals of the Anakaza, thus stirring further hostility among the Gorane.
Judged a charismatic and experienced leader, Nouri was considered the greatest threat faced by Déby since the rebellion of another former Minister of Defense, Youssouf Togoïmi
. Another reason of danger represented by Nouri for Déby was that he may have been seen by western powers such as the United States
and France
as an acceptable alternative to the current president. Such scenarios were elaborated by the Chadian newspaper Le Temps, which, remembering Nouri's past links with Sudan
and Egypt
while a man of Habré, speculates about a French and American plan to overthrow Déby with Egyptian and Sudanese support. Part of the alleged plan would be his taking the overall command of the Chadian armed opposition from the contested Mohammed Nour
.
(UFDD), which included three movements: his UFPD, the Democratic Revolutionary Council
(CDR) led by Acheikh ibn Oumar
and a splinter faction of the United Front for Democratic Change
under Abdelwahid Aboud Mackaye, giving birth to a Toubou
-Arab
coalition. Acheikh became Vice-President while Nouri obtained the presidency, allegedly installed by the Sudanese military intelligence. On the same day the new formation left its bases for in Darfur
and with 800 men mounted on 70 off-road vehicle
s passed for the first time the Chadian-Sudanese border. It directed its attack towards the town of Goz Beïda
, that was briefly occupied, while the following day it was Am Timan
to end under attack. The Chadian Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji
immediately accused the Sudanese government of being behind the attack, arguing that the rebels had attacked from Sudan and that they could not have obtained their military equipment without Sudanese help.
Shortly after its formation three smaller armed groups joined the UFDD: these were the Armed Resistance against Anti-Democratic Forces (RAFAD) led by Hassan Dahab, the Popular Rally for Justice (RPJ) led by Abakar Tollimi, and the National Democratic Rally
(RND) led by Adouma Hassaballah. Also with the help of the latter commander the Ouaddaians became together with the Gorane and the Arabs one of the three key elements of the UFDD.
In November the Sudanese government ceased to support the FUC, which signed in December a peace accord with Déby, and supported in its place Nouri's movement, making it the most powerful anti-Déby insurgency. While possibly not strong enough to remove by force the president, Nouri's forces laid siege to key towns in eastern Chad in late 2006, in particular occupying briefly on November 25 Abéché
, the main city in eastern Chad. After the fall of Abéché, French sources had warned that the capital N'Djamena
could have been attacked in 24 hours; this eventually did not take place, possibly because of Nouri's stated decision to avoid direct attacks on the capital, but to point instead for a war or of attrition, employing hit and run tactics: "our objective so to defeat the enemy troops is to progressively weaken them ... we have inflicted heavy losses on Déby's army, we are now withdrawing ... our final objective remains the fall of N'Djamena, but without haste".
These attacks generated what were read as signs of increasing desperation on part of the government, partly due to France's evident hesitations, with the Minister of Communication Hourmadji Doumgor accusing on November 27 not only Sudan but also Saudi Arabia of being behind the UFDD, alleging that the 60% of its forces were child soldiers recruited in the madrasah
s of Riyadh
, Mecca
and Jeddah
. This may be part of an attempt to present the current Chadian conflict as part of the global War on Terrorism
, so to attract the support of the United States
. The government has also insisted on the relations that have linked in the past both Nouri and Acheikh to Habré to allege that the former president was behind the insurgency. Nouri has denied receiving any support from Saudi Arabia, while he has said that Sudan, in retaliation for the support provided by Déby to the Darfur rebels, supports the Chadian opposition. Coming to the Habré legacy, Nouri refused to criticize him, saying he represented a figure whose ultimate judgment expected to history.
In explaining his political goals to Radio France Internationale
in February 2007, Nouri said that the forces that support him "beat themselves for justice and to overthrow the regime in power in Chad as a mean to restore in Chad justice and democracy". Nouri denied he was fighting for personal power, and instead claimed that if victorious "we intend to organise a national forum, during which a short transition will take place ... to reach free and fair elections".
fighters. Thus the UFDD is considered to be dominated by the Toubou
s, as claimed also by a former cadre of the movement, Habib Dinguess, who has said that Anakaza clan members have taken full control of the movement, in particular those linked to the old Habré regime, first of all Guihini Koreï, once head of the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), Habré's secret police. The UFDD awnsered that Dinguess claims were "ridiculous and shameful" and part of a campaign "to denounce all those that oppose Déby as linked to Habré, or Anakaza or Gorane" and added that Korei was only one of many cadres in the movement.
As for Acheikh, he was followed in his defection by Aboud Mackaye; together these two founded in May the Arab-dominated Union of Forces for Democracy and Development-Fundamental (UFDD-F).
, who said he would contact both Nouri and Timane Erdimi
, leader of the Rally of Democratic Forces
, an idea that Déby said to agree on. Eventually talk peaces sponsored by the Libya
n leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
began in Tripoli
on June 23 between the Chadian government, whose delegation was led by Infrastructure Minister Adoum Younousmi
, and a rebel one, which included a delegation formed by Mahamat Nouri for the UFDD, Timane Erdimi for the Gathering of Forces for Change (the former RaFD), Hasssan al-Djineidi for the Chadian National Concord (CNT) and Aboud Mackaye for the UFDD-F. Through these talks a preliminary peace agreement was signed on October 3, which was criticized by part of the rebels as being too vague regarding the terms for disarmament and reintegration of their respective forces into the Chadian military. Further negotiations brought on October 25 to a final peace agreement signed on October 25 in Sirte
, at the presence of Déby, Gaddafi and the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
. As part of the deal, the rebels and the government have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, a general amnesty and the right for the rebels to join the military and the insurgent groups to become political parties. and the "total respect for the Chadian constitution." While signing the accord, Nouri has moved objections to the government request that the rebels disarm before being reintegrated into the national army.
On November 23 Nouri attacked Déby, saying "I think that N'Djamena forgot about the accord", and adding: "We were to meet them in Khartoum in order to study the practical aspects and how to apply them, but the Chadian government did not send their delegation". He then passed to warn Déby that "On November 25, the Tripoli agreement will be null and void, and the ceasefire will be off", menacing to restart the war. Similar warnings were also issued by Timane Erdimi for the RFC. The Chadian government awnsered the following day by saying to be "unpleasantly surprised" by Nouri and Erdimi's accusations, stating it was "ready on our part to implement the accord."
On November 26 the truce broke down, with governative troops heavily attacking the UFDD positions on the Chadian-Sudanese border. The government had previously accused them of attacking in the weekend, even before the formal end of the ceasefire on Sunday, attacking the Chadian gendarmes which protected the refugee camps. It was also reported that rebels entered the town of Hadjer Hadid on Saturday exchanging fire with the troops there. Nouri and Déby traded accusations on the ultimate responsible of the renewal of the coflict, with Nouri stating that "now that the fire has started, there is no more ceasefire." A western observer later stated that the rebels had signed the peace agreement "while preparing for war", and Nouri himself supported this, saying "nobody believed" in the accord.
After the rebels had been pushed back to their bases in Sudan, the UFDD's secetary-general Abakar Tollimi recognized that a problem had been the "bad coordination" among the UFDD and the RFC. To obviate to this problem and under Sudanese pressure to act in this direction the rebels decided to counter Déby by reaching a major level of integration. Thus on December 13 the UFDD, the UFDD-F and the RFC announced the creation a Unified Military Command with a collegial leadership formed by Nouri, Erdimi and Aboud Mackaye, a joint military structure and a joint spokesman, who was to be Abderaman Koulamallah. The UFDD could count at this moment on 2,000-3,000 men, while the allied RFC had around 800 troops, and the UFDD-F 500.
On January 28, 2008, in an attack said to be planned by the Sudanese Defence Minister Abd-er-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, Nouri and his allies left Sudan with 2,000 troops mounted on 250 pick-ups. On February 1 they successfully routed at Massaguet
a governative counteroffensive, investing on the following day the Chadian capital
. After two days of intense fighting that left hundreds of dead the rebels retreated on February 3 calling for reinforcements. These were intercepted and defeated by Déby's Sudanese ally, the Justice and Equality Movement
(JEM), thus forcing the rebels to give up for good and moved to Mongo
in central Chad to regroup.
To resolve the internal disputes, it was decided, as announced by the joint spokesman Koulamallah, that "we have decided not to return to Ndjamena without having a single leadership". As expected, this generated serious divisions: when Nouri announced the creation of a new military formation, the National Alliance, of which he was to be the President, the new group saw the exclusion of the RFC. As stated by a RFC spokesman Erdimi's faction had "categorically refused the designation of Nouri", and had thus left the coalition. According to RFC sources, the Sudanese government had exerted pressures so that Nouri was made leader. The latter stated that the RFC even if "it hadn't wanted to join us, it remained an ally". The new alliance was composed by the UFDD and UFDD-F, and also a third group, the Front for the Health of the Republic (FSR) led by Ahmat Soubiane
, which was not part of the previous Unified Military Command.
This turn of events immediately generated a new split in the UFDD: the Vice-President of the movement, Adouma Hassaballah, left the coalition in March and with elements taken from both the UFDD and the RFC founded the Union des Forces pour le Changement et la Démocratie (UFCD), which currently claims 2,000 men. As recognized by Nouri, "the Ouaddaians
from the two movements have made a split so to form their own group". According to Nouri, the split had been detonated by his assumption of the leadership of the AN: "the Ouaddaians put in doubt my leadership, which they had initially accepted, and said that it was Sudan that had imposed me as head". Nouri also said that the AN was ready to accept the UFCD in his new coalition.
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 insurgent leader who currently commands the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
The Union of Forces for Democracy and Development is the largest group of Chadian rebel forces opposed to current President Idriss Déby...
(UFDD). A Muslim from northern Chad, he began his career as a 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...
rebel, and when the group's Second Army split in 1976 he sided with his kinsman 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:...
. As Habré's associate he obtained in 1978 the first of the many ministerial positions in his career, becoming Interior Minister in a coalition government. When Habré reached the presidency in 1982, Nouri was by his side and played an important role in the regime.
Following Habré's downfall in 1990, Nouri passed his allegiance to his successor, 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:...
, under whom he rose once again to great prominence, remaining in the cabinet without interruption from 1995 to 2004. After that he was sent as Chad's ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
: while in that country he broke with Déby in 2006, joining armed opposition against him.
Nouri led the creation, from a plurality of armed movements, the most powerful of the Chadian rebel groups, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
The Union of Forces for Democracy and Development is the largest group of Chadian rebel forces opposed to current President Idriss Déby...
(UFDD). He started a series of attacks against government positions in eastern Chad in autumn 2006, causing serious difficulties to Déby. After the ultimate failure of a series of talks held in 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....
in 2007, Nouri coalesced with two other rebel groups and launched a direct attack on the Chadian capital
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...
in February 2008, but was repelled after days of heavy fighting.
Nouri and Hissène Habré
An ethnic Gorane of the AnakazaAnakaza
The Anakaza are a Chadian tribe of the Toubou Daza people. One of the largest of Daza subgroups, they are a nomadic people traditionally employed in camel-herding. They are mostly located in the Saharan region of Borkou in northern Chad, they can be found in a vast area from Faya-Largeau to...
subclan like the former 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:...
, Nouri was born in 1947 in Faya-Largeau
Faya-Largeau
Located in the Sahara, Faya's climate is classed as hot desert on the Köppen climate classification. It experiences hot winters and very hot summers with the peak average maximum temperature reaching in May and the average minimum reaching its lowest in January at . Rainfall averages out at about...
in northern Chad.
Nouri received a formal education and became a postal official. He successively entered in the ranks 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...
, the rebel movement that was waging a civil war against the central government. When the Second Army of the FROLINAT divided itself in 1977 among the supporters of Habré and those of Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...
, Nouri sided with Habré and was one the very few men to be by Habré's side for all the length of the latter's political career. As number 2 of Habré's rebel 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) with the rank of inspector-general, he was given the leadership of the FAN delegation that negotiated the Khartoum peace accord with the Chadian government in 1978. During the coalition government created from this accord between President 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...
and the former rebel leader Habré, now nominated Prime Minister, Nouri held the decisive post of Minister of the Interior, although he was well known for his low opinion of Southern Chadians. After the collapse of the coalition in February 1979, Nouri became Minister of Transport in the first Goukouni government that followed.
When Habré rebelled against Goukouni in 1980, Nouri was once again by his side, and for this he was tried by a special criminal court and on June 13, 1981, sentenced together with Idriss Miskine
Idriss Miskine
Idriss Miskine was a Chadian politician and diplomat under Presidents Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré.-Career:...
to hard labour
Penal labour
Penal labour is a form of unfree labour in which prisoners perform work, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence which involve penal labour include penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour...
for life, while the leader of the FAN, Habré, was sentenced to death. This did not deter Nouri from returning to prominence when Habré conquered the capital N'Djamena
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...
in 1982: as Habré's right hand, Nouri became the new regime's number 2. In 1984 he was made Commissioner for External Affairs in the Executive Bureau of the country's only legal party, the National Union for Independence and Revolution
National Union for Independence and Revolution
The National Union for Independence and Revolution was the ruling party in Chad between 1984 and 1990. It was founded in June 1984 by President Hissène Habré as a successor of his Armed Forces of the North, the insurgent group through which Habré had conquered power in 1982...
(UNIR), and was to eventually obtain the chairmanship of the party.
One of Habré's most seasoned and flexible commanders, he participated to the final phase
Toyota War
The Toyota War is the name commonly given to the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan conflict, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Libyan-Chadian border. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks used as technicals to provide mobility for the Chadian troops as they fought...
of the Chadian-Libyan conflict as commander of the Chadian forces
Military of Chad
The Military of Chad consists of the Armed Forces , Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police, and National and Nomadic Guard...
during the battle of Aouzou in August 1987.
With Idriss Déby and breakup
After Habré was ousted by the rebel forces of Idriss DébyIdriss 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:...
in December 1990, Nouri became a close ally of the new President and a pillar of his regime. In the transitional coalition government formed following the 1993 Sovereign National Conference, Nouri became Minister of Health under Prime Minister Fidèle Moungar
Fidèle Moungar
Fidèle Abdelkérim Moungar is a Chadian doctor and a veteran politician who served as Prime Minister of Chad in 1993. He is currently Secretary-General of Chadian Action for Unity and Socialism , a left-wing opposition party....
. In 1995, when Koibla Djimasta
Koibla Djimasta
Koibla Djimasta was a Chadian politician of Sara ethnicity from the southern Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture.An administrator, Djimasta held various cabinet positions under Presidents Hissène Habré and Idriss Déby, beginning with his appointment as Minister of Health and Social Affairs in the cabinet...
was appointed as the last transitional Prime Minister, Nouri was named Minister of the Interior; while holding this post, he also chaired the Commission Nationale Recensement Électoral (CNRE), created in 1995 to organise the voter registration for the first multiparty elections in Chad since independence. Following Déby's victory in the 1996 presidential election
Chadian presidential election, 1996
Presidential election were held in Chad on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. This was the first multiparty presidential election in the history of Chad since its independence. It occurred at the end of a long transitional process and was repeatedly delayed...
, Nouri was moved from his post as Minister of the Interior to that of Minister for Livestock. He kept the latter post for five years; he left it on February 24, 2001, when he was appointed as Minister of National Defence in the government chaired by Nagoum Yamassoum
Nagoum Yamassoum
Nagoum Yamassoum is a Chadian politician. He was Prime Minister of Chad from 1999 to 2002 and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2005....
. He left his post and the government three years later, during a cabinet reshuffle that took place on February 2, 2004. Nouri's entourage gave ill health as the reason for his departure. He was successively posted for two years to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
as an ambassador, until he left his position on May 6, 2006.
Nouri stepped down on the eve of the controversial second reelection of Déby
Chadian presidential election, 2006
A presidential election took place in Chad on May 3, 2006. A 2005 constitutional referendum made it possible for President Idriss Déby to run for a third term; having come to power in December 1990, he previously won elections in 1996 and 2001...
as President, arguing that the country was undergoing one of the gravest crises in its history and that the responsibility for this was exclusively Déby's. He also made clear that while joining the rebellion he had no intention of becoming a member of any existing armed movement. The former ambassador was promptly attacked by the Chadian government, whose spokesman Hourmadji Mousa Doumgor accused him of paying men in Sudan US $250
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
each to join his the group he was allegedly forming. As a means of weakening Nouri's Gorane power-base, it was reported that in August the Chadian government started arming the Kamaya Gorane subclan, historically rivals of the Anakaza, thus stirring further hostility among the Gorane.
Judged a charismatic and experienced leader, Nouri was considered the greatest threat faced by Déby since the rebellion of another former Minister of Defense, Youssouf Togoïmi
Youssouf Togoïmi
Youssouf Togoïmi was a leading Chadian politician who served in the government under President Idriss Déby but subsequently led a rebel group, the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad , against Déby....
. Another reason of danger represented by Nouri for Déby was that he may have been seen by western powers such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and France
France
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...
as an acceptable alternative to the current president. Such scenarios were elaborated by the Chadian newspaper Le Temps, which, remembering Nouri's past links with 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...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
while a man of Habré, speculates about a French and American plan to overthrow Déby with Egyptian and Sudanese support. Part of the alleged plan would be his taking the overall command of the Chadian armed opposition from the contested Mohammed Nour
Mohammed Nour Abdelkerim
Mohammed Nour Abdelkerim is a former Chadian rebel leader. After signing a peace agreement with the government, he served as Minister of Defense for nine months in 2007....
.
Foundation of the UFDD
Nouri directed himself to Sudan and gave birth in July to a new formation, the Union of Forces for Progress and Democracy (Union des forces pour le progrès et la démocratie or UFPD). On the morning of October 22 Nouri founded a new rebel coalition, the Union of Forces for Democracy and DevelopmentUnion of Forces for Democracy and Development
The Union of Forces for Democracy and Development is the largest group of Chadian rebel forces opposed to current President Idriss Déby...
(UFDD), which included three movements: his UFPD, the Democratic Revolutionary Council
Democratic Revolutionary Council
The Democratic Revolutionary Council was a faction of FROLINAT founded by Ahmat Acyl and later headed by Acheikh ibn Oumar and was also known as the New Vulcan Army....
(CDR) led by Acheikh ibn Oumar
Acheikh ibn Oumar
Acheikh ibn Oumar is a Chadian politician and military leader. In the 1980s he led the Democratic Revolutionary Council , a military-political group opposing the government of President Hissène Habré....
and a splinter faction of the United Front for Democratic Change
United Front for Democratic Change
The United Front for Democratic Change or Front uni pour le changement is a Chadian rebel alliance, made up of eight individual rebel groups, all with the goals of overthrowing the government of current Chadian President. It is now part of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development. UFDC...
under Abdelwahid Aboud Mackaye, giving birth to a Toubou
Toubou
The Tubu are an ethnic group that live mainly in northern Chad, but also in Libya, Niger and Sudan....
-Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
coalition. Acheikh became Vice-President while Nouri obtained the presidency, allegedly installed by the Sudanese military intelligence. On the same day the new formation left its bases for in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
and with 800 men mounted on 70 off-road vehicle
Off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...
s passed for the first time the Chadian-Sudanese border. It directed its attack towards the town of Goz Beïda
Goz Beïda
Goz Beïda is the main town of the Sila Department, which occupies the south-east part of the Ouaddaï Region region of Chad. It is from Chad's eastern border with Sudan's western Darfur Region. Thousands of refugees from Sudan live in Goz Beïda...
, that was briefly occupied, while the following day it was Am Timan
Am Timan
Am Timan is a city in Chad and is the capital of the region of Salamat. Am Timan means "mother of twins," although the reason for the name is not known...
to end under attack. The Chadian Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji
Pascal Yoadimnadji
Pascal Yoadimnadji served as the Prime Minister of Chad from February 2005 to February 2007.-Biography:Yoadimnadji was born in Béboto in the Logone Oriental Region of southern Chad...
immediately accused the Sudanese government of being behind the attack, arguing that the rebels had attacked from Sudan and that they could not have obtained their military equipment without Sudanese help.
Shortly after its formation three smaller armed groups joined the UFDD: these were the Armed Resistance against Anti-Democratic Forces (RAFAD) led by Hassan Dahab, the Popular Rally for Justice (RPJ) led by Abakar Tollimi, and the National Democratic Rally
National Democratic Rally
Two organisations currently use the name National Democratic Rally:#The National Democratic Rally of Senegal.#The National Democratic Rally of Syria....
(RND) led by Adouma Hassaballah. Also with the help of the latter commander the Ouaddaians became together with the Gorane and the Arabs one of the three key elements of the UFDD.
In November the Sudanese government ceased to support the FUC, which signed in December a peace accord with Déby, and supported in its place Nouri's movement, making it the most powerful anti-Déby insurgency. While possibly not strong enough to remove by force the president, Nouri's forces laid siege to key towns in eastern Chad in late 2006, in particular occupying briefly on November 25 Abéché
Abéché
-Demographics:Demographic evolution:-References:...
, the main city in eastern Chad. After the fall of Abéché, French sources had warned that the capital N'Djamena
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...
could have been attacked in 24 hours; this eventually did not take place, possibly because of Nouri's stated decision to avoid direct attacks on the capital, but to point instead for a war or of attrition, employing hit and run tactics: "our objective so to defeat the enemy troops is to progressively weaken them ... we have inflicted heavy losses on Déby's army, we are now withdrawing ... our final objective remains the fall of N'Djamena, but without haste".
These attacks generated what were read as signs of increasing desperation on part of the government, partly due to France's evident hesitations, with the Minister of Communication Hourmadji Doumgor accusing on November 27 not only Sudan but also Saudi Arabia of being behind the UFDD, alleging that the 60% of its forces were child soldiers recruited in the madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
s of Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
. This may be part of an attempt to present the current Chadian conflict as part of the global War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, so to attract the support of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The government has also insisted on the relations that have linked in the past both Nouri and Acheikh to Habré to allege that the former president was behind the insurgency. Nouri has denied receiving any support from Saudi Arabia, while he has said that Sudan, in retaliation for the support provided by Déby to the Darfur rebels, supports the Chadian opposition. Coming to the Habré legacy, Nouri refused to criticize him, saying he represented a figure whose ultimate judgment expected to history.
In explaining his political goals to Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
in February 2007, Nouri said that the forces that support him "beat themselves for justice and to overthrow the regime in power in Chad as a mean to restore in Chad justice and democracy". Nouri denied he was fighting for personal power, and instead claimed that if victorious "we intend to organise a national forum, during which a short transition will take place ... to reach free and fair elections".
Defections within the UFDD
The UFDD has suffered by internal dissensions that have ultimately given birth to the UFDD-Fondamentale led by Abdelwahit About and Acheikh ibn Oumar. This was caused by the expulsion in April 2007 from the movement of the UFDD vice-president ibn Oumar, whose Arab elements have played a key role in the battles that took place in late 2006. But when Acheikh asked for a major space for his men in the movement's organization, he was replaced by Nouri with Adoum Hassab Allah and his OuaddaianOuaddaï Region
Ouaddaï is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Abéché. It is composed by the former Ouaddaï Prefecture. Its main ethnic groups are the Arabs and the Maba. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture and breeding...
fighters. Thus the UFDD is considered to be dominated by the Toubou
Toubou
The Tubu are an ethnic group that live mainly in northern Chad, but also in Libya, Niger and Sudan....
s, as claimed also by a former cadre of the movement, Habib Dinguess, who has said that Anakaza clan members have taken full control of the movement, in particular those linked to the old Habré regime, first of all Guihini Koreï, once head of the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), Habré's secret police. The UFDD awnsered that Dinguess claims were "ridiculous and shameful" and part of a campaign "to denounce all those that oppose Déby as linked to Habré, or Anakaza or Gorane" and added that Korei was only one of many cadres in the movement.
As for Acheikh, he was followed in his defection by Aboud Mackaye; together these two founded in May the Arab-dominated Union of Forces for Democracy and Development-Fundamental (UFDD-F).
Peace talks
To put an end to the conflict among the Chadian government and the rebels the first to propose himself as a mediator was in April 2007 the former president Goukouni OueddeiGoukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...
, who said he would contact both Nouri and Timane Erdimi
Timane Erdimi
Timane Erdimi is the leader of the Chadian rebel group Rally of Democratic Forces which had 800 soldiers in early 2008. He is a member of the ethnic group Zaghawa and nephew of the Chadian President Idriss Déby.An international arrest warrant was issued by Chad for Erdimi in 2007...
, leader of the Rally of Democratic Forces
Rally of Democratic Forces (rebel group)
The Rally of Democratic Forces is a Chadian rebel group led by Timane Erdimi. It is currently allied to the United Front for Democratic Change rebel group and both are dedicated to overthrowing Erdimi's uncle, the current Chadian President Idriss Déby and his administration...
, an idea that Déby said to agree on. Eventually talk peaces sponsored by the 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....
n leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-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...
began in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
on June 23 between the Chadian government, whose delegation was led by Infrastructure Minister Adoum Younousmi
Adoum Younousmi
Adoum Younousmi is a Chadian politician who served in the government of Chad as Minister of Public Works and Transport from 2003 to 2005 and has been Minister of State for Infrastructure since 2005...
, and a rebel one, which included a delegation formed by Mahamat Nouri for the UFDD, Timane Erdimi for the Gathering of Forces for Change (the former RaFD), Hasssan al-Djineidi for the Chadian National Concord (CNT) and Aboud Mackaye for the UFDD-F. Through these talks a preliminary peace agreement was signed on October 3, which was criticized by part of the rebels as being too vague regarding the terms for disarmament and reintegration of their respective forces into the Chadian military. Further negotiations brought on October 25 to a final peace agreement signed on October 25 in Sirte
Sirte
Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...
, at the presence of Déby, Gaddafi and the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Omar al-Bashir
Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...
. As part of the deal, the rebels and the government have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, a general amnesty and the right for the rebels to join the military and the insurgent groups to become political parties. and the "total respect for the Chadian constitution." While signing the accord, Nouri has moved objections to the government request that the rebels disarm before being reintegrated into the national army.
On November 23 Nouri attacked Déby, saying "I think that N'Djamena forgot about the accord", and adding: "We were to meet them in Khartoum in order to study the practical aspects and how to apply them, but the Chadian government did not send their delegation". He then passed to warn Déby that "On November 25, the Tripoli agreement will be null and void, and the ceasefire will be off", menacing to restart the war. Similar warnings were also issued by Timane Erdimi for the RFC. The Chadian government awnsered the following day by saying to be "unpleasantly surprised" by Nouri and Erdimi's accusations, stating it was "ready on our part to implement the accord."
On November 26 the truce broke down, with governative troops heavily attacking the UFDD positions on the Chadian-Sudanese border. The government had previously accused them of attacking in the weekend, even before the formal end of the ceasefire on Sunday, attacking the Chadian gendarmes which protected the refugee camps. It was also reported that rebels entered the town of Hadjer Hadid on Saturday exchanging fire with the troops there. Nouri and Déby traded accusations on the ultimate responsible of the renewal of the coflict, with Nouri stating that "now that the fire has started, there is no more ceasefire." A western observer later stated that the rebels had signed the peace agreement "while preparing for war", and Nouri himself supported this, saying "nobody believed" in the accord.
Renewed war
What followed in the successive weeks has been reported as the worst fighting seen in Chad since almost 20 years, with Déby's forces successfully resisting to the rebel attacks, keeping them east of the Goz Beïda-Abéché-Kalaït line; while in the first violent important clash among the UFDD and the army at Abou Galem on October 26 losses had been about equal on each side, in the following days the UFDD suffered heavy losses, losing most of his troops. This was in part recognized by Nouri, when to justify the UFDD's inactivity after the clashes he said that "both sides are tending to their wounds but the next battle will be decisive."After the rebels had been pushed back to their bases in Sudan, the UFDD's secetary-general Abakar Tollimi recognized that a problem had been the "bad coordination" among the UFDD and the RFC. To obviate to this problem and under Sudanese pressure to act in this direction the rebels decided to counter Déby by reaching a major level of integration. Thus on December 13 the UFDD, the UFDD-F and the RFC announced the creation a Unified Military Command with a collegial leadership formed by Nouri, Erdimi and Aboud Mackaye, a joint military structure and a joint spokesman, who was to be Abderaman Koulamallah. The UFDD could count at this moment on 2,000-3,000 men, while the allied RFC had around 800 troops, and the UFDD-F 500.
On January 28, 2008, in an attack said to be planned by the Sudanese Defence Minister Abd-er-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, Nouri and his allies left Sudan with 2,000 troops mounted on 250 pick-ups. On February 1 they successfully routed at Massaguet
Massaguet
Massaguet is a city in Hadjer-Lamis region, western Chad. It is located at around .A 86.6km highway completed in 1969 connects Massaguet with N'Djamena....
a governative counteroffensive, investing on the following day the Chadian capital
Battle of N'Djamena (2008)
The Battle of N'Djamena began on February 2, 2008 when Chadian rebel forces opposed to Chadian President Idriss Déby entered N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, after a three-day advance through the country. The rebels were initially successful, taking a large part of the city and attacking the heavily...
. After two days of intense fighting that left hundreds of dead the rebels retreated on February 3 calling for reinforcements. These were intercepted and defeated by Déby's Sudanese ally, the Justice and Equality Movement
Justice and Equality Movement
The Justice and Equality Movement is a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict of Sudan, led by Khalil Ibrahim. Along with other rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Movement , they are fighting against the Sudanese Government, including the government's proxy militia, the Janjaweed...
(JEM), thus forcing the rebels to give up for good and moved to Mongo
Mongo, Chad
Mongo is a city in Chad, the capital of the region of Guéra. It lies 252.2 miles by road east of the capital N'Djamena. It is served by Mongo Airport....
in central Chad to regroup.
Reorganization
The rebel defeat has been attributed by one side to a misjudgement of Déby's strength, which brought to an attack with too few troops and heavy weapons, and by the other side due to divisions among the rebel commanders. While stating that the troops were well coordinated during the battle, some of the participants mentioned the three-headed leadership as one of the reasons for the defeat. The rivality among the groups had surfaced easily during the groups, as recognized by Nouri: "In Ndjamena we wanted to send out a radio message, but we were unable to agree on which leader was going to read it out", adding that "after the fall of the regime our objectives are different."To resolve the internal disputes, it was decided, as announced by the joint spokesman Koulamallah, that "we have decided not to return to Ndjamena without having a single leadership". As expected, this generated serious divisions: when Nouri announced the creation of a new military formation, the National Alliance, of which he was to be the President, the new group saw the exclusion of the RFC. As stated by a RFC spokesman Erdimi's faction had "categorically refused the designation of Nouri", and had thus left the coalition. According to RFC sources, the Sudanese government had exerted pressures so that Nouri was made leader. The latter stated that the RFC even if "it hadn't wanted to join us, it remained an ally". The new alliance was composed by the UFDD and UFDD-F, and also a third group, the Front for the Health of the Republic (FSR) led by Ahmat Soubiane
Ahmat Hassaballah Soubiane
Ahmat Hassaballah Soubiane is a Chadian politician and diplomat. He was the Ambassador of Chad to the United States from 1999 to 2004.Soubiane was appointed as Ambassador to the United States on 21 December 1998 and presented his credentials on 21 January 1999.The Criminal Court decided in August...
, which was not part of the previous Unified Military Command.
This turn of events immediately generated a new split in the UFDD: the Vice-President of the movement, Adouma Hassaballah, left the coalition in March and with elements taken from both the UFDD and the RFC founded the Union des Forces pour le Changement et la Démocratie (UFCD), which currently claims 2,000 men. As recognized by Nouri, "the Ouaddaians
Ouaddaï Region
Ouaddaï is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Abéché. It is composed by the former Ouaddaï Prefecture. Its main ethnic groups are the Arabs and the Maba. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture and breeding...
from the two movements have made a split so to form their own group". According to Nouri, the split had been detonated by his assumption of the leadership of the AN: "the Ouaddaians put in doubt my leadership, which they had initially accepted, and said that it was Sudan that had imposed me as head". Nouri also said that the AN was ready to accept the UFCD in his new coalition.