CONFLICT BAROMETER 2008

30 Conflict Barometer 2008
tion. Chad’s army, on the other hand, acted on behalf
of the nomads and supposedly with the approval of
CAR’s government when it launched numerous crossborder
attacks on villages in northwest CAR, primarily
between Markounda and Maitoukoulou, displacing more
than 1,000 people in January and February. In the most
severe attack, six villages were burned down and five villagers
killed on February 29. The attacks were linked to
the conflict. From mid-December 2007 till mid-February
2008, approx. 6,000 people fled to southern Chad. On
March 4 to 5, APRD rebels claimed to have killed five
and wounded ten FACA soldiers in fighting near the town
of Bocaranga in the northwestern border region. APRD
and the government signed a ceasefire agreement in
Gabon’s capital, Libreville, on May 9. The APRD had
been the last rebel group to sign a ceasefire agreement
with the government after the FDPC and UFDR
had already signed one on 02/02/07 and 04/13/07, respectively.
On June 21, UFDR, APRD, and President
François Bozizé signed a comprehensive peace accord
dealing with the issues of reintegration programs and
amnesty. On August 2, APRD and, on August 3, UFDR
as well as FDPC withdrew from the ongoing peace negotiations,
citing discontent with the draft amnesty laws,
which were nevertheless enacted in September. On August
7, only days after APRD had left the peace talks,
FACA and APRD engaged in clashes in the northeast
CAR. Reports of clashes on August 11 and 14 near
the Cameroonian border by APRD were denied by the
government. In late August, CAR armed forces reportedly
attacked APRD’s main operating area in the country’s
northwest. A splinter group of UFDR called FIRCA
seized the village of Am Dafok on the Sudanese border
in September. The peace talks between APRD,
UFDR and the government resumed in late October. On
November 11, the government stated that FDPC had
killed up to 14 government soldiers in an ambush near
Sido, close to the Chadian border. Adding to the fragile
security situation, the Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan
rebel group, conducted several raids on border villages
in the CAR, killing and abducting several hundreds
of people [→ Uganda (LRA)]. (ng)
Chad (various rebel groups)
Intensity: 5 Change: Start: 2005
Conflict parties: FUC, UFDD, UFDD-F, RFC, FSR, UFCD,
UDC, MDJT, NA vs. government
Conflict items: national power
The conflict over national power between a coalition of
various rebel groups and the government escalated to a
war. The deployment of the EU peacekeeping mission
EUFOR CHAD/CAR as well as the UN mission MINUR-
CAT to eastern Chad and the Central African Republic
[→ Central African Republic (various rebel groups)]
failed to deescalate the situation. After heavy clashes
between the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development
(UFDD), the Rally of Forces for Change (RFC),
and the government in November, UFDD declared war
on France and any other foreign forces in Chad on
11/30/07. The clashes continued until December 2007.
On January 6, Chadian planes bombed rebel positions
in Goker and Wadi Radi in Sudan’s Darfur region near
the regional capital Geneina, causing further tensions
between the two states [→ Chad - Sudan]. At least six
rebels were killed. In late January, shortly after the EU’s
foreign ministers had decided on January 28 to launch
EUFOR CHAD/CAR, the conflict escalated considerably.
In an all-out offensive, a convoy of 300 vehicles carrying
a total of 2,000 rebels of an alliance of UFDD, UFDD-
Fundamental (UFDD-F), and RFC approached the capital
N’Djamena from the eastern part of the country,
reaching its outskirts on February 1 and entering the
city the next day. Heavy fighting broke out as the rebels
laid siege to the palace of President Idriss Déby. On
February 3, 3,000 government troops equipped with helicopters
and heavy tanks launched counterattacks on
the rebels, forcing them to completely retreat by February
4. Already on February 1, France backed the Chadian
government by reinforcing its contingent and flying
in 150 troops from Gabon as a ”precautionary measure”.
Fearing further attacks, 20,000 people fled to
Cameroon, and another 1,000 to northern Nigeria. According
to Déby, some 700 were killed in the fighting.
The Red Cross reported more than 1,000 wounded, including
many civilians, and some 30,000 refugees. Amid
the unstable situation, Déby announced a countrywide
state of emergency lasting from February 14 until March
15. Rights groups accused the president of using the
crisis as a pretext for cracking down on the opposition
[→ Chad (opposition)]. Chad accused Sudan of having
backed the attack. After a temporary suspension,
the EU peacekeeping force resumed its deployment to
the eastern part of the country on February 12, and, on
March 15, achieved Initial Operation Capability status.
Following the repelled offensive, the alliance of rebels
regrouped. Timane Erdimi left with his RFC, and Ahmat
Soubiane, leader of the Front for the Health of the
Republic (FSR), joined UFDD and UFDD-F in forming
a new coalition called the National Alliance (NA) in late
February. On March 28, the Union of Forces for Change
and Democracy (UFCD), consisting of UFDD’s vice president
Adouma Hassaballah and RFC members, joined
the NA. Later on, Abderaman Koulamallah, leader of the
Democratic Union for Change (UDC), also joined, and by
early August, the NA accepted the northern-based rebel
group Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJT) as
another coalition member [→ Chad (MDJT)]. All opposing
rebel groups dismissed the latest peace deal signed
between Chad and Sudan on March 13, arguing that the
security situation could only be improved by a comprehensive
dialog between the government and the various
rebel groups. From mid-March on, the government was
engaged on and off in negotiations with RFC. Both conflict
parties were led by members of the Zaghawa clan,
i.e. Déby and his nephew Timane Erdimi, respectively.
Throughout the remaining year, rebel groups continued
attacking towns and refugee camps, e.g. in Am Zoer
and Goz Beida, while the Chadian army fought back.
No significant progress was made in the implementation
of agreements between the two conflict parties. By
September 15, the EUFOR mission had deployed 3,400
troops, its full operational capability. By October, aid or-