Chad. (Areas of Conflict).

They've been going at it, off and on, since Chad became independent in 1960. So far, the body count is 50,000.

The population is divided between mostly African farmers in the south who practice Christianity and traditional faiths, and Arab and Saharan people in the northern deserts

Since 1990, the main fighting has been between the government of President Idriss Deby and southern factions. The most important of the southern groups has been the Movement for Democracy and Development, which is linked to deposed President Hissene Habre. Mr. Habre was facing charges of violating human rights in a court in Senegal, but he seems to have been able to pull enough strings to get the charges dropped.

Other rebel groups, including the Armed Forces for a Federal Republic (FARF) and the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT), have joined the fighting more recently.

The country has moved slowly towards a representative government, with a ban on political parties lifted in 1993. A transitional parliament has been established, but almost all power rests with President Deby. The president also receives support from France, which maintains a garrison of 1,000 soldiers in Chad. An April 1997 peace agreement between the government and FARF to integrate FARF forces into the state army broke down, resulting in renewed fighting in October 1997. In December 1999, thirteen armed political movements formed a new alliance against the government, called the CMAP (Coordination des Mouvements Armes et Politiques de l'Opposition).

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Websites

Political Resources - http://www.politicalresources.net/ chad.htm

ReliefWeb - http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf