Tibesti Region ( ar, مقاطعة تيبستي) is a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
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 ...
, located in far northwest of the country. Its capital is
Bardaï. It was created in 2008 when the former
Borkou-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 ...
was split into three, with 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 ...
becoming the Tibesti Region. The region is named for the
Tibesti Mountains
The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and i ...
, one of the most prominent mountain chains in the
Sahara Desert
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. Tibesti is the least populated region of Chad, and also has the lowest GDP in the country.
History
Ancient
The rock paintings and engravings in Tibesti bear witness to an ancient civilization from 25,000 B.C. There are rock engravings in the area of
Zouar, featuring, among others,
cows
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
eating fresh grass, attesting to the wet past of the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
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. The area has historically been mainly inhabited by the
Toubou people
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 ...
.
Age of Colonisation
In 1869
Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal (; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surgeon and explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His missio ...
was sent by German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
to contact the Sultan of
Bornu, and was the first European to travel the Tibesti region from
Zouar to
Bardaï.
Condemned by the traditional assembly of the
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 ...
to capital punishment for espionage, he appealed, but this was rejected. He was only released upon the intervention of
Maï Arami Tetimi. Upon his return to Germany he published the book ''Sahara and the Sudan'' detailing his experiences.
The capital,
Bardaï, was invaded by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1908, and by 1911 they had 60 men and 6 cannons in the town.
The area fell under French rule during the
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
in the late 19th century. Prior to 1931 much of the region belonged to what is now Niger as part of the
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
colony.
First Chadian Civil War
Claustre Affair
in 1974, during the
First Chadian Civil War, rebels led by
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 ...
nationalist
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 unt ...
captured 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 ...
, Marc Combe (also French), an assistant to Mrs. Claustre's husband, and
Christoph Staewen
Dr. Christoph Staewen (14 July 1926 – 24 April 2002) was a German medical doctor, specialist of psychiatry, neurology and psychotherapy. In 1963 and early 1964 he visited parts of west and central Africa, amongst others the Tibesti region. In 1 ...
, a German physician. Stray bullets killed Staewen's wife. The trio were captured near
Bardaï in the desert of the Tibesti Region. Combe later escaped and Staewen was released after a ransom was paid by the German government.
Combe would later write a book about his experiences, ''Otage au Tibesti''.
Rebels also established a radio station in
Bardaï called "Voice of the Liberation of Chad", also known as Radio Free Bardaï. An opposition leader,
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 ...
, established a base in the Tibesti region in the early 1980s with
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 ...
n military backing. In December, 1986,
Habré attacked the Libyans in the Tibesti region around
Bardaï.
Post-war
In the late 2000s-early 2010s
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
was discovered in the region, prompting a gold rush which has brought much insecurity to the region. In September 2019 about 30 people died following the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Kouri Bougoudi.
2021 offensive
An
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
from the
Front for Change and Concord in Chad
The Front for Change and Concord in Chad (french: Front pour l’alternance et la concorde au Tchad, ar, جبهة التغيير والوفاق في تشاد), or FACT, is a political and military organisation created by SG Mahamat Mahdi Ali in ...
(FACT) rebel group began in the region on the day of the
2021 Chadian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Chad on 11 April 2021. Incumbent Idriss Déby, who served five consecutive terms since seizing power in the 1990 coup d'état, was running for a sixth. Déby was described as an authoritarian by several inter ...
. On 20 April, President
Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021.
Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...
was killed while visiting the frontlines of the conflict, the country's borders has been shut as a result of this.
Geography
The region borders
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 ...
to the north,
Borkou Region
The Borkou region ( ar, بركو) is a region of Chad which was created in 2008 from the Borkou department of the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region. Its capital is Faya-Largeau.
Geography
Borkou is located in the Sahara Desert, and contains ...
to the east, and
Niger
)
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, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
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. It contains parts of the
Tibesti Mountains
The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and i ...
, and also part of the
Erg of Bilma
The Erg of Bilma is a dune sea (Arabic: ''erg'') in the Ténéré desert region of the south central Sahara Desert. The Erg of Bilma stretches southwest from Fachi and the Tibesti Mountains. On the west it is bounded by the Aïr Mountains in north ...
, a vast area of sand dunes in the centre of the desert. The region's northern border lies 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 ...
, historically a point of dispute between
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
[Geoffrey Leslie Simons, ''Libya and the West: from independence to Lockerbie'', Centre for Libyan Studies (Oxford, England). Pg. 57]
Settlements
The regional capital is
Bardaï; other major settlements include
Aouzou
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 ...
,
Goubonne,
Wour
WOUR (96.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Utica, New York. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format, with occasional recent rock hits, calling itself "The Rock of Central New York." The station is owned by Townsquare Media a ...
,
Zouar and
Zoumri.
Demographics
The region had a population of 25,483 at the time of the 2009 Chadian census.
[ The main ethnolinguistic group is the ]Tedaga
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 ...
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 ...
.
Subdivisions
The region of Tibesti is divided into two departments:
References
{{Authority control
States and territories established in 2008
Regions of Chad