| National and Nomadic Guard of Chad الحرس الوطني التشادي للبدو والرحل Garde nationale et nomade du Tchad | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | GNNT |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1960 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Chad |
| Constituting instrument |
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| Specialist jurisdiction |
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| Operational structure | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Ministry for Territorial Administration |
| Notables | |
| Significant operation | |
TheNational and Nomadic Guard of Chad (الحرس الوطني التشادي للبدو والرحل,Garde Nationale et Nomade du Tchad - GNNT) is one offive defence and security forces inChad. (The others are the Army, the Gendarmerie, the Police and the Judicial Police.) Article 200 of theConstitution of 1996 states that the duties of the GNNT are the protection of politicians, government officials, and government buildings; the maintenance of order in rural areas; and the guarding of prisons and prisoners.[1] These responsibilities remain unchanged in the new Constitution of 2018 but are now in Article 195.[2]
The GNNT was first known in the 1960s as the Territorial Guard, but was quickly renamed the Nomad and National Guard, carrying out much the same duties it does today: providing security for officials, government buildings, andregional government posts.[3] Differently from today, the GNN was then dominated by Southerners, with only 250Toubou. This also explains the resentment that brought in 1968 to the destruction of the GNN garrison ofAozou and themutiny of the Toubou units, formingla Deuxième Armée (the Second Army) of theFROLINAT. Notwithstanding this setback, PresidentFrançois Tombalbaye showed much more trust in the GNN than in the Army; by 1971, its numbers had risen to at least 3,500, commanded byCamille Gourvennec, aFrench officer and Director of Information Services (espionage).[4] Gourvennec's deputy wasPierre Galopin.
When theChadian Civil War extended itself to theBorkou-Ennedi-Tibesti in 1968, the GNN found itself increasingly on the frontline against the insurgents. The final battle between the insurgency and theChadian Armed Forces came in 1977–78, whenGoukouni Oueddei, leader of a FROLINAT faction, conquered all government strongholds in northern Chad, inflicting staggering losses to the armed forces. The GNN in particular lost heavily in early 1978 when Goukouni tookFada and the capital of the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti,Faya-Largeau. This practically brought an end to the GNN, until it was revived shortly before 1996 by the formerPresidentIdriss Déby.[5]
The GNNT is under the control of theMinistry for Territorial Administration, unlike the Army and the Gendarmerie, which come under the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence. From May 24, 2006, to June 12, 2019, the GNNT was commanded byBrigadier GeneralMahamat Saleh Brahim, the cousin of PresidentIdriss Déby.[6][7] His replacement was General Tahir Ahmat Hissein.[8]
While theConstitution states, in Article 201, that the GNNT must "respect the liberties and rights of man"[1] when exercising its functions, the GNNT has been accused of perpetrating serioushuman rights violations, as reported byAmnesty International. Following the murder of a GNNTcorporal, the Guardextrajudicially executed the suspect on November 17, 1996.[9]
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