Fada () is the capital of the Ennedi-Ouest Region of

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 ...

, which was created in 2012 from the western half of the Ennedi Region. Lying in the

Ennedi Plateau The Ennedi Plateau is located in the northeast of Chad, in the regions of Ennedi-Ouest Region, Ennedi-Ouest and Ennedi-Est Region, Ennedi-Est. It is considered a part of the group of mountains known as the Ennedi Massif found in Chad, which is o ...

, it has a population of 23,786 (as of December 2005). It is known for the surrounding

cave paintings In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin. These paintings were often created by ''Hom ...

and

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...

s, while the Guelta d'Archei and a

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

growing in a

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

are local attractions. During the

Toyota War The Toyota War (, ), also known as the Great Toyota War, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Chad–Libya border, was the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan War. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, primarily the Toyo ...

phase of the

Chadian–Libyan War The Chadian–Libyan War was a series of military campaigns in Chad between 1978 and 1987, fought between Libyan and allied Chadian forces against Chadian groups supported by France, with the occasional involvement of other foreign countries an ...

in 1987, the town saw fighting during the Battle of Fada. The town is served by Fada Airport.

History

Rock paintings and archaeological artifacts at nearby Guelta d'Archei, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, show evidence that humans occupied the area around 10,000 BCE during the African humid period.

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 ...

, a former military officer and president of Chad, was born in the village of Berdoba, about 190 kilometres from Fada. As a student, he attended the École-Francaise in studying the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. On 2 January 1987, during the

, Fada was the scene of a battle fought between Chad and the armed forces of the

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the '' de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutio ...

and the Democratic Revolutionary Council. The battle was marked as a turning point of the Chadian-Libyan conflict.

References

External links

Populated places in Chad Ennedi-Ouest Region {{Chad-geo-stub