Bardaï ( ar, برداي) 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 ...

. It is the main town of the

Tibesti Region Tibesti Region ( ar, مقاطعة تيبستي) is a region of Chad, located in far northwest of the country. Its capital is Bardaï. It was created in 2008 when the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region was split into three, with the Tibesti Dep ...

, which was formed in 2008 from the

Tibesti Department Tibesti ( ar, تبستي) was one of four departments within the former Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region of Chad. Its capital was Bardaï. In 2008 the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region was split into three, with Tibesti Department becoming the separ ...

of the former

Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region The Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti (BET) was until 2008 one of the then 18 regions of Chad, its capital being Faya-Largeau. It comprised the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Prefecture. Most of the region was part of the Sahara desert. In 2008, this region wa ...

History

The first European who reported Bardaï was the German explorer Gustav Nachtigal. He reached Bardaï on 8 August 1869, but had to flee on 3–4 September because of the hostile attitude of the local

Toubou The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads or as ...

population. The town was invaded by the Turks in around 1908, and by 1911 they had 60 men and six cannons in Bardaï. Bardaï came to international attention in 1974, when a rebel group, led by Hissène Habré, attacked the town and captured a French archaeologist,

Françoise Claustre Françoise Claustre (8 February 1937 – 3 September 2006), was a French archaeologist. Life and career Claustre was taken hostage by a group of Chadian rebels, led by Hissène Habré, on 20 April 1974, at Bardaï, in the Tibesti Mountain ...

, and two other European citizens. The rebels established an anti-French radio station here during the civil war, which was known as the "Voice of Liberation of Chad", or Radio Bardaï. An opposition government led by

Goukouni Oueddei Goukouni Oueddei ( ar, كوكوني عويدي '; born 1944 in Zouar) is a Chadian politician who served as President of Chad from 1979 to 1982. A northerner, Goukouni commanded FROLINAT rebels with Libyan support during the first Chadian Civi ...

was established here with Libyan military backing in the early 1980s. In December 1986, Habré forces attacked the Libyans at Bardaï. The

Tedaga language The Teda language, also known as Tedaga, is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Teda, a northern subgroup of the Toubou people that inhabits southern Libya, northern Chad and eastern Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type ...

is spoken within the Bardaï area of northern Chad, although the Dazaga language is a secondary language. The town is served by Zougra Airport. The local football team is General Sal Football club.

References

Populated places in Chad Tibesti Region Oases of Chad Tibesti Mountains {{Chad-geo-stub