Peace and Security in Chad: 101 for General Mahamat Idriss Dèby Itno

By Saron Obia

The President of the Republic is the Supreme Head of the army. He presides over the Superior Councils and Committees of the National Defense. (Article 93 of the Constitution of the Republic of Chad)

Introduction

François Tombalbaye was the first president elect, of Chad in 1960, under the banner of the Chadian Progressive Party. Just like other French colonies of the era, Tombalbaye introduced one-party system, which was perceived as an authoritarian system of governance, provoking great resentment following policy towards the Muslim north. In the late 60s and 70s the rule of the game changed, with rebellion, though France and Libya were major policing actors against the new socio-political trajectory in Chad (internal wrangling).

In 1979, the rebels captured the capital, N’Djamena, which led to regime change in Chad. Due to leadership issues, internal wrangling sparked out in Chad, which led to the rise to power of Hissène Habré in 1982. The latter was seen as a tyrant, following his leadership strategy or policy, which later led to conflict with Libya. The conflict necessitated intervention of France and United States to police the emerging menace, which also included atrocities and human rights abuses in Chad.

In 1990, Habré was dethroned by his former chief military adviser, Idriss Déby Itno (one of Africa’s phenomenal geostrategist). Though the latter was accused in 1989 of plotting a coup against Habré, he fled to Sudan where he formed, the Mouvement patriotique du salut (MPS, or Salvation Patriotic Movement). The same year, Deby challenged Habré’s army and conquered the capital. During Déby’s oath to the nation as president of Chad on December 5, 1990, his first words were “I bring you neither gold, nor money, but freedom.” Which he maintained till his death.

Following the announcement of Chad’s President Idriss Déby, dead on April 20, 2021, reportedly from battlefield injuries, where his troops were defending a Chadian territorial integrity from rebel advancing from neighboring Libya,the spokesman of the military machine announced Déby’s death on state television, the dissolution of the government and the National Assembly and the formation of a military council led by Déby’s son, General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, aka Mahamat Kaka. The council equally proposed, in contravention of the constitution, 18- month transitional period before elections will be organised.

It worth noting that, Mahamat “Kaka,” was formerly the deputy commander of the Chadian forces in Mali and commander of the Direction générale des services de sécurité des institutions de l’Etat (DGSSIE, or General Direction of the Security Services of State Institutions), which was known as the Garde républicaine (Republican Guard), whose budget comes directly from the presidency.

Regional Security Dynamics

Regional security dynamics is focus on regime security, survival or human security. The security menace posed by Boko Haram around the Lake Chad Basin, appeals to strategic trends, such as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, challenges for humanitarian assistance in the region, considering the high level of armed banditry. However, in the lexicon of regional stability, humanitarian assistance is secondo to geostrategic reasons.

General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno will need to maintain Chad immense geostrategic importance, in the battle against Boko Haram, but also ensure the boundary between Arabs and sub-Saharan Africa, Africa’s cultural and climatic divide are maintain. Mahamat will need to rethink on Chad’s policy in relation to resource capture. That is, engage in the oil market in Africa, which it valuable to source of energy security to China and the US.

Moreover, Mahamat, should ensure regime stability as to maintain alliance and influence in the Central Africa region and the Gulf of Guinea. General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, as a strategist and will know for operational coordination, will be efficient in counter terrorism in the Sahel region. For example; Operation Serval, a French-led campaign to reclaim the territorial integrity of Mali. Where some 2,400 troops, mostly from the DGSSIE, were deployed and succeeded to defeating armed groups in northern Mali. The oil industry is emerging, following the quest for energy, which western countries and other global actors like China, Russia and India, are increasingly focusing on the Gulf of Guinea.

Strategic security menace

Security is major aspect for peace and sustainable development. Arguably, Chad’s security forces are gradually transforming from a militia-style, where former rebel combatants are integrated into professional army. Several security constraints are being raised, from ethnic differences, to inequalities between elite forces and others who in terms of social amenities. There’s need to reconfigure the system of governance, thereby restructuring the intelligence agency and other state machinery to avoid economic crisis and uncertainty surrounding the regime’s future as per Article 185 of the Chadian constitution.

In November 2011, the regime conducted an audit on the payroll of the armed forces and identified and dismissed a large number of ghost soldiers, including many former rebels who had been integrated into the army as a way of suppressing rebellions, such as the hundreds of Tubu members of the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad. This demobilization process was known as the contrôle de Moussoro, the north town military base of N’Djamena that serves as a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration center.

The re-emergence of global terrorism in the world, is the frequent abandoned or dismissal of military agents, who have been trained, master the military language, tactic, weapons and terrain, who usually seek refuge with rebel groups or terrorist organization avenge the disgrace inflicted by the state. For example, the operation in Chad was perceived as an opportunity to withdraw elements from ethnic groups believed to be disloyal to the regime, but it was sending warriors to create new groups. Nonetheless, as per Chapter IV of the constitution of Chad, which focus on the National and Nomadic Guard, as per Article 195, the government would have integrated them in to National and Nomadic Guard.

Sirte Agreement (Allez Suivez le Guide)

Signed on 25 October between the government and the main Chadian armed opposition, the agreement called for respect of the constitution, a ceasefire, general amnesty, and for rebel groups to participate in state affairs, for rebel force integration into the Chadian National Army and for a meeting in Tripoli, with attendance of all political parties and civil society organizations, for the follow up on the implementation of the agreement. However, parties did not adhere to the Sirte Agreement. The leader of CNT, for his part, decided to implement the Sirte Agreement, opting on 7 December 2007 to return to N’Djamena. This critical and similar to the case of Afghanistan. Though the agreement was marked with several challenges, Déby warned that it was the last agreement he would negotiate with rebels. As such, the new leader most limit or totally eradicate such criminal tendencies which might cause new challenges to the state.

Conclusion

In 2017, Jérôme Tubiana and Marielle Debos, had already predicted Mahamat Kaka, entering the ‘game’ as leader of Chad. They perceived that, creation of transitional authorities has inevitably slowed down progress on security sector reform as it diverted the attention of national and international actors. On the military front, although Chadian troops have exposed their mastery of the Sahel zone and counter terrorism supremacy over Boko Haram, the battle is yet to be finished, with emerging attacks. Would Mahamat Kaka’s Malian operation redefine Chad’s military engagement in the fight against Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram? Chad’s President remains a major actor in counter terrorism in Africa. Chad is still vulnerable to regional threats, following her intervention against Boko Haram. Chad role in the Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF), created under the Lake Chad Basin Commission in 2014, is undisputed. The force which comprises 8,700 troops from Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Bénin, and includes three thousand Chadians and which N’Djamena is the headquarters expose the zeal to eradicate terrorism. The Chad force act as a magnet for the Lake Chad Basin Commission. This report simply appeals for restructuring of Chad’s military machine, to engage global challenges in the region.