| Battle of N'Djamena | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theChadian Civil War (2005–2010) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United Front for Democratic Change |  Military of Chad | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mohammed Nour Abdelkerim Abdelwahid Aboud Mackaye |  Idriss Déby | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 370 killed[1] 271 captured[1] | 30 killed[1] | ||||||
| Unknown number of civilians killed, 387 injured on both sides[1] | |||||||
TheBattle of N'Djamena took place between the forces of therevolutionaryUnited Front for Democratic Change (UFCD) and themilitary of Chad that occurred on 13 April 2006 when rebel forces launched anassault on the capital ofChad in the pre-dawn hours, attempting to overthrow thegovernment ofPresidentIdriss Déby Itno from their bases an estimated thousand miles east.
The battle occurred just months after serious Chad-Sudan tensions ended with the signing of theTripoli Agreement. Déby broke off relations with the government of Sudan as a result, expelling its diplomats and threatened to stop sheltering thousands ofSudanese refugees from theDarfur region.[2] The government of Sudan has been documented by the United Nations to have engaged in mass murder of approximately 100,000 non-Arab civilians inDarfur in the period 2003–2006.[3]
The rebels attempted to seize theNational Assembly building, but the assault was easily repulsed by the much more heavily armed Chadian government forces. At least 400 people, including 370 rebels, 30 government forces and somecivilians, were killed in the fighting. 271 rebels were captured andparaded through thePlace d'Independance the next day.
President Déby blamed the attack on the government of neighboringSudan, claiming that many of the attackers were either Sudanese backed by their government or residents of Chad conscripted by the Sudanese. Subsequently, he threatened to expel 200,000 Sudanese refugees sheltering in the east of the country after repeating accusations that Sudan supports rebels who launched a new offensive to oust him. Déby backed away from this threat on 17 April 2006.[4]
Déby repeatedly has accused Sudan of hiring mercenaries to overthrow his government. Sudan has denied the accusation, and in turn has accused Chad of supporting fighters in its volatile Darfur region, where Arab militias and African rebels have fought for nearly three years.
Déby claimed that the rebel attack was designed to encourage a constitutional vacuum leading tocivil war, by disrupting the forthcomingMay 3 presidential election, an election in which President Déby, who had been Chad's leader for sixteen years, successfully ran for a third term.[5]
Déby dismissed the rebels as "petty mercenaries" and described the attack as "amateurish", saying that he was "not going anywhere". According to Déby, on the morning of the rebel attack, he "knew they were coming", and he and his wife Hinda were "listening to the cannon fire" while "[taking] our breakfast of strong coffee and warm croissant."[6]
The actions of the rebel forces were condemned by theUnited Nations Security Council. Secretary GeneralKofi Annan was quoted as saying he was "greatly troubled by the worsening security situation in Chad".[7]
TheCentral African Republic closed off itsborder with Sudan on 14 April saying that the rebels had crossed into its territory on their way to N'Djamena.[8]
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12°06′59″N15°04′20″E / 12.1164°N 15.0722°E /12.1164; 15.0722
