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TheGeneral Directorate of the Security Service of State Institutions (French:Direction générale de service de sécurité des institutions de l'État, DGSSIE) is one of the intelligence agencies of theRepublic of Chad and is tasked with presidential security, domesticmilitary intelligence, andcounterterrorism. The DGSSIE is estimated to consist of between 5,400 and 7,000 troops. It was founded in 2005 by PresidentIdriss Déby to replace the former Republican Guard, though it had several historic predecessors during the rule ofFrançois Tombalbaye andHissène Habré.
The earliest predecessor of the agency was theCompagnies Tchadiennes de Securité (CTS), or Chadian Security Unit, a paramilitary force established by PresidentFrançois Tombalbaye in 1967. The CTS consisted of a mix of intelligence officers and soldiers from theChadian Armed Forces, serving as a mobile unit and as a presidential security group. Some of its members were trained byIsrael.[1] During the 1970s theCentre de Coordination et d'Exploitation du Renseignement (CCER), or Center for Coordination and Exploitation of Intelligence, was created. It later included theBrigade Spéciale d'Intervention (BSI). The CCER was led by the French colonelCamille Gourvenec and its Special Intervention Brigade carried out arrests, torture, and assassinations of the president's political opponents. Gourvenec later betrayed Tombalbaye and had a role in the1975 coup that led to the president's death. He was later an advisor to Tombalbaye's successorFélix Malloum.[2]
Malloum's brief rule was marked by the dysfunction of most state institutions and lawlessness in northern Chad. Hefled the country in 1979 amidst a civil war against rebel groups, and his successorGoukouni Oueddei wasoverthrown in 1982 byHissène Habré.[3] Habré created theDirection de la Documentation et de la Securité (DDS), or Directorate of Documentation and Security, which served as his secret police force. It also included a uniformedBrigade Spéciale d'Intervention Rapide (BSIR).[4] The DDS oversaw of amass surveillance police state that monitored the population for criticism of the Habré regime, while the BSIR was used to carry out arrests.[5] In addition, several other intelligence organizations were created in other parts of the government, including the Internal Affairs Ministry (Sûreté Nationale) and the Office of the President (Service d'Investigation Présidentielle).[6] The DDS received support from the United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency during theReagan administration, and from France and Israel.[7]
One of the most common tasks for Chad's various intelligence agencies was to spy on soldiers in the country's military, which included integrated rebel groups and the former national army.[8] A Presidential Guard was established as an independent part of theChadian National Armed Forces that answered to Habré, with its troops being better paid and equipped than the regular military.[8] In 1989 two generals,Idriss Déby andHassan Djamous, attempted to overthrow Habré in a failed coup. Djamous was arrested and killed by the DDS, while Déby escaped toSudan and became the founder of thePatriotic Salvation Movement to overthrow Habré.[9] After Déby'ssuccessful invasion of Chad and removal of Habré in 1990, he established an agency to replace the DDS, which in 1993 became the modern-dayNational Security Agency (Agence Nationale de Sécurité, ANS).[10] The Presidential Guard was later renamed the Republican Guard.[11]
A soldier of the DGSSIE training at Flintlock 2017, an exercise held by theU.S. Africa Command
During the presidency of Idriss Déby, the Republican Guard and the ANS both were used to suppress political opposition to his government.[11] However, members of the Republican Guard took part in afailed coup attempt in May 2004 and others defected during a mutiny in late 2005 that led to start of theChadian Civil War. The DGSSIE was established by PresidentIdriss Déby on 1 November 2005, after having dissolved the Republican Guard. The new agency, tasked with protecting thepresident of Chad, had 1,640 personnel.[12][13]
The DGSSIE has been described as a "praetorian guard" and the domestic military intelligence of the Déby administration. It also controls special forces units, which is known as the Division of Special Anti-Terrorist Groups (DGSAT) or the Special Anti-Terrorist Group (SATG).[14][15][16] Due to its importance, the DGSSIE receives a disproportionate amount of training and equipment compared to theChad National Army.[17]
The former president's son,Mahamat Idriss Déby, commanded an armored unit and was the head of security of the presidential palace before becoming the head of the entire agency[18] in 2014.[17] He commanded DGSSIE special forces units duringOperation Serval alongside the French military.[18]
^U.S. EMBASSY NDJAMENA (July 3, 2020) "VEHICLES HANDOVER TO CHAD’S SPECIAL ANTI-TERRORISM GROUP (SATG)" U.S. Embassy in Chad, U.S. Embassy in Chad,https://td.usembassy.gov/news-events/, Date accessed: November 17, 2025
Hansen, Ketil Fred (2023). "Chad: An Armed Intelligence Culture". In Shaffer, Ryan (ed.).The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures. London: Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-5381-5998-9.
