Ounianga Kébir (town)
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Ounianga Kébir () is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in the
Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
in the
Ennedi Region Ennedi Region was a former region of Chad. It was created in 2008 from the Ennedi Est Department and Ennedi Ouest Department of the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region. The capital of the Ennedi region was Fada. In 2012 it was split into two n ...
of northern
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 ...
. Located within the Ennedi Department, Ounianga also makes up a
sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...
.


History

In 1871, a
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi () are a Muslim political-religious Sufi order and clan in Libya and surrounding regions founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Sanussi ( ''as-Sanūssiyy al-Kabīr''), the Algerian Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi. ...
zawaya was established in Ounianga Kébir. According to W.J. Harding King of the Royal Geographic Society, in the 1920s, Ounianga (or Wanjunga) Kébir and Ounianga Serir were a part of a district called Wanjungat, which according to him had its own language and sultan named Mayna. This sultanate remained under firm Senussi influence until November of 1929, when French soldiers occupied several posts in the Ennedi region, including Ounianga Kébir. During French administration, the nomadic tribes in the region were hardly subdued, and did not pay taxes or obey French laws. In late 1987, during the final days of 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 ...
, Chadian soldiers intercepted a Libyan column en route to Ounianga Kébir. They routed the soldiers north, across the Libyan border, and took Maaten al-Sarra air base. On January 13, 2007, The rebel group Union Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) attacked and briefly occupied Ounianga Kébir at dawn. Later that day, it was attacked by Chadian government soldiers, who claimed they took the city and pursued the rebels, leaving three wounded Chadian soldiers and two wounded rebels and one dead.


Transport

The town is served by
Kébir Airport Kébir Airport () is an airstrip serving Ounianga, a town in the Ennedi-Ouest Region of northern Chad. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 04/22 with a sand Sand is a gr ...
.


Geography

Ounianga Kébir is located next to the Lakes of Ounianga. The area is part of
Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
and is a hot and hyperarid desert that features less than 2 millimetres (0.1 in) of rainfall a year. The town is in a basin between the mountains of
Tibesti 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 ...
to the west and Ennedi to the east.


References


External links


Satellite map at Maplandia
Populated places in Chad Ennedi-Ouest Region {{Chad-geo-stub