BBC News – 2007-10-26 00:59:33

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7063093.stm

Libya Seals Peace Deal for Chad
BBC News

(October 24, 2007) — Four Chadian rebel groups have sealed a peace agreement with the government, three weeks after negotiating the preliminary deal. Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi hosted the talks alongside the presidents of Chad and Sudan.

The insurgent groups have waged an on-off rebellion against Chadian President Idriss Deby for years. The fighting was linked to the conflict plaguing the neighbouring Sudanese region of Darfur.

Col Gaddafi was quoted by AP news agency as saying: “I hope this is the last stage in the peace process in Chad, and I guarantee all signatories will abide by the agreement.”

The deal was signed in the Libyan city of Sirte by the Movement for Resistance and Change, the National Accord of Chad and two factions of the Front for United Forces for Development and Democracy.

Under the deal, the parties agreed to an immediate ceasefire, an amnesty for civil and military personnel and the release of all prisoners. The rebels were granted the right to form political parties and to join the military and security forces.

The accord comes weeks before the planned deployment in Chad’s volatile east of a European Union peacekeeping force. Chad has been plagued by civil wars and invasions since independence from France in 1960.
© BBC MMVII
Behind Chad’s Rebel Alliance
BBC News

(April 12, 2006) — The rebels marching towards Chad’s capital are following a well-trodden route. In the 46 years since its independence, power has yet to change hands in Chad through the ballot box.

The United Front for Change (Fuc) is a coalition of several smaller armed groups and army deserters, many of whom fought to place President Idriss Deby in power in 1990.

Under the leadership of 35-year-old Mahamat Nour, the alliance is well armed and says it wants to get to N’Djamena before elections due at the beginning of May and before the start of the rainy season.

For the past six months, Nour has been building up his forces in bases in Darfur, the lawless Sudanese region across Chad’s eastern border, from where both Mr Deby and before him ex-President Hissene Habre launched their coups.

This has infuriated Mr Deby, whose government has accused Sudan of backing the Fuc. But as Sudan battles its own rebels in Darfur – drawn from the same Zagawa ethnic group as Mr Deby – it hurls similar accusations at Chad.

Tactics
For Mr Nour, this fallout of former allies has been timely and enabled him to plan strategically.

The BBC French Service journalist Mahamat Adamou says Mr Deby’s forces are mostly concentrated in the east and the recent rebel raids in the centre and south of the country have caught the military on the back foot.

The rebel alliance claims its intention once it reaches the capital is to organise a national forum that will lead to a transitional government and on to democratic elections.

Fuc accuse Mr Deby of being a dictator whose corrupt rule is to blame for the mismanagement of the economy.

The largely arid country became an oil-exporter in 2003 but after decades of civil war there is little infrastructure and widespread poverty.

Family feud
Mr Deby, who won Chad’s first elections in 1996, is standing again in next month’s polls. The constitutional two-term presidential limit was amended to allow him to seek another term in office.

Analysts believe it is anger at this move more than anything else that has fuelled the rebellion and even driven Zagawa family members into rebel arms.

Another rebel group called Scud – not part of the Fuc coalition – is headed by Mr Deby’s powerful twin nephews.

The great danger if this offensive is successful, says Mahamat Adamou, is that these two groups or the Fuc coalition itself may fall out. For ordinary Chadians it would be like returning to 1979, when at least 12 armed groups took N’Djamena and attempted to share power. After a few months they started fighting amongst themselves leaving Chad facing further unrest and years of civil war.

© BBC MMVII

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