Aouzou, Chad

Aouzou Aozou
Aouzou Location in Chad (Tibesti Region highlighted)
Coordinates: 21°48′56″N 17°25′46″E / 21.81556°N 17.42944°ECoordinates: 21°48′56″N 17°25′46″E / 21.81556°N 17.42944°E
Country	Chad
Region	Tibesti
Time zone	+1

Aouzou (/ˈaʊzuː/; Arabic أوزو, alternatively Aozou) is a small town and oasis in the extreme north of Chad, situated within the Aouzou Strip. It was a focal point of the Chadian–Libyan conflict, during which Chadian forces captured the town from Libya in August 1987, followed by its recapture by Libya less than a month later. The town was formally transferred to Chadian control in 1994, along with the entirety of the Aouzou Strip.

In the early 1980s, the total population of the Aouzou area and the nearby valley of the Enneri Yebige was estimated to number around 1,300 persons.^[1]

Battle of Aouzou

In 1987, Chad and Libya were embroiled in the Toyota War, the name given to the last phase of the larger Chadian–Libyan conflict, and the Chadian National Armed Forces (FANT) were in the process of retaking northern Chad from Libya. The battle for the Aouzou Strip—a strip of land in northern Chad then controlled by Libya—began in late July 1987. After suffering a string of defeats, the Libyan Army organized a counteroffensive on August 8 in an attempt to regain a foothold in the nearby Tibesti mountains. As the 3,000-strong Libyan force drove southward toward the Tibesti town of Bardaï, they were intercepted by the FANT, which surrounded and attacked them on multiple axes, forcing them to retreat. The Chadians then began aggressively pursuing the Libyans northward through the desert toward Aouzou, along the way inflicting numerous casualties on the Libyan Army, which suffered 650 killed, 147 taken prisoner, 111 military vehicles captured, and at least 30 tanks and APCs destroyed. With the Libyans routed, the FANT troops easily moved into the town of Aouzou that same day; however, this move went against the advice of the France's president and Chadian ally François Mitterrand, who refused to provide air support for the operation.^[2][3]

The loss of Aouzou infuriated Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who ordered its recapture. He sent Ali ash-Sharif, whom was widely considered to be Libya's most capable general, along with 15,000 troops to retake the town. The Libyans began bombarding the town with artillery and airstrikes to soften up the Chadian positions. Despite the bombardment, when the Libyans finally attacked on August 14, they were repelled by the Chadians and lost over 200 men in the process. Ash-Sharif regrouped and launched a second attack, but was defeated once more.^[2] The Chadians overcame the Libyans' far superior weaponry, which included Soviet T-55 tanks, by utilizing innovative tactics. For example, the Chadians would mount French-supplied MILAN anti-tank missiles on Toyota pickup trucks and then race two of the trucks towards the tank from opposite directions. The tanks were unable to move their turrets fast enough to track them.^[4] Meanwhile, the "Libyans conducted simple, slow-moving frontal assaults, which were easily broken up by fast, enveloping Chadian counterattacks."^[2]

Following his second defeat, ash-Sharif began raining even greater artillery and air bombardment down upon the town. In addition, he brought in a number of commando units and formations from the Jamahiriya Guard. Ash-Sharif employed these forces as shock troops and, with enormous firepower—and with the Chadians lacking French air support—he finally succeeded in retaking Aouzou on August 28. He was aided by the fact that several key Chadian commanders had pulled out of the town in preparation for a surprise attack on a Libyan air base, leaving behind only about 400 FANT soldiers led by a novice commander.^[2] In celebration, Gaddafi flew foreign journalists to the region to highlight the victory.^[5]

In response, Chad appeared to be making military preparations for an attempt to retake Aouzou but, under the leadership of Chadian President Hissène Habré, instead launched a surprise attack against the Libyan Maaten al-Sarra Air Base on September 5, which resulted in a spectacular victory. Fighting between the two nations was suspended six days later on September 11, 1987, when both leaders accepted a ceasefire proposed by the Organisation of African Unity. Chadian efforts to regain the Aouzou Strip were halted, and thus the town of Aouzou remained under Libyan control.^[6]

The Aouzou dispute was concluded for good on February 3, 1994, when the judges of the International Court of Justice by a majority of 16 to 1 decided that the Aouzou Strip belonged to Chad. Monitored by international observers, the withdrawal of Libyan troops from the Strip began on April 15 and was completed by May 10. The formal and final transfer of the Aouzou Strip from Libya to Chad took place on May 30, when the sides signed a joint declaration stating that the Libyan withdrawal had been effected.^[5][7]

References

1. Chapelle, Jean (2004) [1982]. Nomades noirs du Sahara : les Toubous [Black nomads of the Sahara: the Toubou] (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. p. 69. ISBN 9782858022212.
2. Pollack, Kenneth M. (2004). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 395–396. ISBN 9780803287839.
3. Nolutshungu, Sam C. (1995). Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad. University of Virginia Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-8139-1628-3.
4. "Topics of the Times; Toyotas and Tanks". New York Times. August 16, 1987.
5. Simons, Geoff (2004). Libya and the West: From Independence to Lockerbie. I.B. Tauris. pp. 58, 78. ISBN 1-86064-988-2.
6. Collelo, Thomas (1990). Chad. US GPO. ISBN 0-16-024770-5.
7. Brecher, Michael & Wilkenfeld, Jonathan (1997). A Study in Crisis. University of Michigan Press. p. 95. ISBN 0-472-10806-9.