Aouzou (; ar, أوزو, alternatively Aozou) is a small town and

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in the extreme north of

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, situated within the

Aouzou Strip The Aouzou Strip (; ar, قطاع أوزو, Qiṭāʿ Awzū, french: Bande d'Aozou) is a strip of land in northern Chad that lies along the border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, E ...

. It was the site of the

Battle of Aouzou The Battle of Aouzou refers to a pair of battles fought between Chad and Libya in and around the town of Aouzou (Chad) in August 1987, as part of the Toyota War, the last phase of the larger Chadian–Libyan conflict. The first battle result ...

, during which Chadian forces captured the town from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

in August 1987, followed by its recapture by

less than a month later. The town was formally transferred to Chadian control in 1994, along with the entirety of the Aouzou Strip. In the early 1980s, the total population of the Aouzou area and the nearby valley of the Enneri Yebige was estimated to number around 1,300 persons.

References

1987 in Chad Battles of the Chadian–Libyan conflict Conflicts in 1987 Military history of Chad Military history of Libya Oases of Chad Populated places in Chad Tibesti Mountains Tibesti Region {{Chad-geo-stub