Abéché (, ''Absha'') is a city in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and the capital of the

Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture, a form ...

. It is one of the largest cities in the country and has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans.

History

The city of Abéché was made

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the

Wadai Sultanate The Wadai Sultanate ( ''Saltanat Waday'', , Fur: ''Burgu'' or ''Birgu''; 1635–1912), sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate (), was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republi ...

in the 1890s, after the wells at

Ouara Ouara (or Wara, ) is the former capital of the Ouaddai Empire lying near Abéché in eastern Chad. It has been deserted since its wells went dry in the 19th century. Situated between hills, it is still home to a ruined palace A palace is a la ...

, the former capital, had dried out. In 1909, French troops invaded the Kingdom and established a garrison in Abéché.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

took power, forcing the sultan to renounce his throne. At that time, Abéché was the largest city in Chad with 28,000 people, but major epidemics reduced the population to 6,000 in 1919. In 1935, the sultanate was restored by orders of the French government, and Muhammed Ouarada, heir to the throne after his father became king. Once one of the strongholds of the Arabic slave trade route, the city is known today for its

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, square (the Place de l'Indépendance) and for its sultan's

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

. Abéché has several schools, a hospital, a university and is one of the major garrisons of the Armee Nationale du Tchad ANT . There is a small

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

, Airport ID: AE, operated sunrise to sunset (SR-SS) with flights to N'Djaména. On 25 November 2006, the city was taken by the Union of Forces for Democracy, a rebel group that sought to depose president

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...

. Extensive looting took place during the night. On the same day, nearby Biltine was captured by the Rally of Democratic Forces, another rebel group. A day later, both cities were retaken by the Chadian army. On 30 October 2007, the city came to international attention when 17 French volunteers working for the charity

Zoé's Ark Zoé's Ark () is a French charity organization with the aim of increasing awareness of the crisis in Darfur and providing aid for children affected by the conflict. The organization was brought into the public's awareness in 2007 with the arrest ...

were arrested there for alleged

child abduction Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a Minor (law), minor (a child under the age of Age of majority, legal adulthood) from the Child custody, custody of the child's Parent, natural parents or Legal guardian, legally appoi ...

. Abeche is the centrum for the delivery of humanitarian assistance for approx. 240,000 Darfurian refugees living in 12 camps east of the town, near the border with Sudan. A number of organizations opened office 2003 and 2004, e.g.

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

, the Red Cross, the German GTZ and UNICEF.

Demographics

Demographic evolution:

Economy

It is surrounded by

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

and is an important cattle raising center. The manufacture of camel-hair blankets is one of the industries of the area.

Transportation

It has major roads connecting it to the capital

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

, as well as Sarh, and also to neighbouring

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The city is served by

Abéché Airport Abéché Airport (; ; ) is an airport serving Abéché, the fourth largest city in Chad and the capital city of Chad's Ouaddaï Region. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway In aviati ...

which connects to city to N'Djamena and

Faya-Largeau Faya-Largeau (also known as Faya, or ) is the largest city in northern Chad and was the capital of the region of Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti. It is now in the Borkou Region, which was formed in 2008 from the Borkou Department of the former Bourkou-En ...

Education

The Lycee Franco-Arabe school is located here.

Notable people

Youssouf Saleh Abbas Youssouf Saleh Abbas ( '; born ''c''. 1953

, Chadian political figure who was Prime Minister of Chad 2008 to 2010 * Arabi El Goni, politician

Climate

Abéché is the hottest major city in Chad. It gets 336 afternoons a year above . Its

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

is in mid-year, from June to September. The hottest months are from March to June. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a hot arid climate (''BWh'') due to its extreme potential evapotranspiration. It is one of the hottest cities on earth with average year-round daily high of over , and an average daily mean of around .

Images

File:Abeché.jpg, Aerial view File:Abeché1.jpg, The two mosques File:Aeroport abeché1.jpg, Abéché Airport File:Chad Clothes sewer Abéché DSC1594-2.jpg, Abéché Market File:Abeche leather shop.jpg, A leather shop in Abéché File:La ville d'Abéché, vue du poste Français.jpg, Abéché (1918) File:La grande place d'Abéché.jpg, Abéché Market (1918) File:Intérieur du tata à Abéché.jpg, Tata Fortress (1918)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeche Populated places in Chad Ouaddaï Region