43 Tubu Trouble: State and Statelessness in the Chad– Sudan–Libya Triangle By Jérôme Tubiana and Claudio Gramizzi A co-publication of the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan and the Security Assessment in North Africa with Conflict Armament Research HSBA Copyright Published in Switzerland by the Small Arms Survey © Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva 2017 First published in June 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of the Small Arms Survey, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organi- zation. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Publications Manager, Small Arms Survey, at the address below. Small Arms Survey Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Series editor: Emile LeBrun ([email protected]) Copy-edited by Alex Potter ([email protected]) and Claire Mc Evoy ([email protected]) Proofread by Donald Strachan ([email protected]) Cartography by Jillian Luff (www.mapgrafix.com) Typeset in Optima and Palatino by Rick Jones ([email protected]) Printed by nbmedia in Geneva, Switzerland ISBN 978-2-940548-37-8 2 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 43 Contents List of boxes and maps ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5 List of abbreviations and acronyms .................................................................................................................................. 6 Key events ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 I. Introduction and key findings ......................................................................................................................................... 10 II. Regional dynamics ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Maintaining the Chadian–Sudanese entente since 2011 17 Realignment of Chad’s security concerns 26 III. The Chadian Sahara since the 1990s: the MDJT, its war, and its legacies ................................................................................................................................... 29 A populated desert 29 State absence: a historical constant since colonization 33 The MDJT war (1997–2011) and its impact 35 The MDJT ‘government’ in Tibesti 43 Fragmentation and slow death of a rebellion 47 IV. The difficult return of the state ................................................................................................................................... 59 Administrative instabilities 59 XAF 30 billion for Tibesti’s development: a lost opportunity 70 V. Gold without borders: a gold rush on Teda lands ......................................................................... 75 Striking gold from Sudan to Algeria 75 Eldorado in Tibesti 80 Conflicts around gold 83 Tubiana and Gramizzi Tubu Trouble 3 Local reaction: from self-defence to rejection of the state 92 The role of the state: between collusion and neutrality 96 The rebel factor 98 Aftermath of the gold rush 100 VI. Wars without borders: northern Chad and southern Libya ................................... 103 Chadian and Libyan Teda: multiple identities 103 The Libyan Teda under Qaddafi 106 The Teda at war in Libya 108 Control of the borders, roads, and trade 123 Sudanese and Chadian interventions in Libya 134 VII. Conclusion: a holistic approach to security .................................................................................... 152 Endnotes ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 155 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 175 About the authors ................................................................................................................................................................................... 180 The Small Arms Survey ................................................................................................................................................................. 181 The Human Security Baseline Assessment .................................................................................................... 182 The Security Assessment in North Africa ........................................................................................................ 184 Conflict Armament Research ................................................................................................................................................ 185 HSBA publications ................................................................................................................................................................................. 186 Online resources ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 192 4 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 43 List of boxes and maps Boxes 1 Mines: the inheritance of several wars 40 2 Seeking international legitimacy: the ‘Para’ opportunity 57 3 New chiefs: the case of Chidi Kallemay 65 4 New schools, few pupils, and practically no teachers 73 5 From old to new wangada 89 Maps 1 Chad–Sudan–Libya: The turbulent triangle 14 2 Chad–Libya borderlands 29 3 Ethnic groups 35 4 Landmines in northern Chad 40 5 Goldmining in eastern and central Sahara 75 6 Trade and trafficking routes 126 Tubiana and Gramizzi Tubu Trouble 5 List of abbreviations and acronyms ANS National Security Agency (Agence nationale de sécurité) ANT Chadian National Army (Armée nationale tchadienne) AU African Union CAR Central African Republic CEN-SAD Community of Sahel-Saharan States CCFAN Northern Armed Forces Command Council (Conseil de commandement des forces armées du Nord) DGGTPP General Directorate for Presidential Large-scale Works and Projects (Direction générale des grands travaux et projets présidentiels) EU European Union EUR Euro FACT Front for Change and Concord in Chad (Front pour l’alternance et la concorde au Tchad) FAP People’s Armed Forces (Forces armées populaires) Frolinat Chadian National Liberation Front (Front de libération nationale du Tchad) FSR Front for the Salvation of the Republic GNA Government of National Accord GNC General National Congress GNNT Chadian National and Nomadic Guard (Garde nationale et nomade du Tchad) GSPC Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat) GUNT Chadian Government of National Unity (Gouvernement d’union nationale du Tchad) IS Islamic State HoR House of Representatives JEM Justice and Equality Movement 6 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 43 LJM Liberation and Justice Movement LYD Libyan dinar MDJT Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice au Tchad) MP Member of parliament MPS Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement patriotique du salut) NISS National Intelligence and Security Service NTC National Transitional Council RPG Rocket-propelled grenade RSF Rapid Support Forces SDG Sudanese pound SLA-AW Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid Mohamed al Nur SLA-MM Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi SPLM Sudan People’s Liberation Movement UAE United Arab Emirates UFDD Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (Union des forces pour la démocratie et le développement) UFR Union of Resistance Forces (Union des forces de la résistance) UN United Nations USD US dollar XAF Central African franc Tubiana and Gramizzi Tubu Trouble 7 Key events 1913–14 French forces enter Borkou and then Tibesti. The Chadian Sahara is one of the last parts of Africa to be colonized. 1960 Chad’s independence from France. 1966 Exiled dissidents from northern Chad found the Front de libération nationale du Tchad (Frolinat), the source of all subsequent armed opposition movements in northern Chad. 1968 Frolinat begins to establish itself in Tibesti. 1969 Muammar Qaddafi comes to power in Libya. 1973 Libya occupies the Aozou strip. 1978–79 Libyan forces and allied Chadian rebels take control of Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti. 1987 Chadian president Hissène Habré retakes control of northern Chad with the exception of the Aozou strip. 1987–98 Tibesti experiences a decade of relative peace and stability. 1989 Omar al-Bashir comes to power in Sudan. 1990 Idriss Déby comes to power in Chad. 1994 Libya withdraws from the Aozou strip. 1997 The Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice au Tchad (MDJT) is founded in N’Djaména by a dozen people from Tibesti. 1998–2011 MDJT war takes place. The most violent part of the conflict occurs from 1998 to 2002. The group comprises