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Chad is one of the most extreme examples of an artificial state created by drawing lines on the map without regard to the inhabitants. Since independence it has been in a state of continual war between different political factions, which in reality are geographical and clan groupings. Libya has tried to annex part of the north, and occupied the Aouzou Strip. Access to radioactive minerals is the presumed motive but in fact, as there is no coherent national interest represented by the geographical area, Chad is a vacuum into which other states project power. Libya is reported May 1994 to have left the Aouzou. Refugees from the Sudan war in Darfur war have crossed into Chad. Janjaweed fighters are reported to be operating in Chad as well as in Darfur. The previous leader Hissein Habry was overthrown by a force assembled in Darfur by the present leader, Idriss Deby. In turn, he is facing rebel forces from Darfur. There are French troops in the country. There are reports that the Darfur war is now spreading not just into Chad but also into the Central African Republic. In February 2008 a rebel force briefly captured the capital, though were driven out again with the aid of French forces. |
