Tibesti Region

Coordinates: 21°21′16″N 17°00′04″E / 21.35444°N 17.00111°E / 21.35444; 17.00111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

21°21′16″N 17°00′04″E / 21.35444°N 17.00111°E / 21.35444; 17.00111

Tibesti
تيبستي
Region
Map of Chad showing Tibesti.
Map of Chad showing Tibesti.
CountryChad
Departments2
Sub-prefectures7
Region2008
CapitalBardaï
Population
 (2009)[1]
 • Total25,483
 The 2009 census figure is an official estimate.[1]

Tibesti Region (

Sahara Desert. Tibesti is the least populated region of Chad, and also has the lowest GDP in the country. Despite being nearly the same size as the US state of Alabama
, Tibesti had an estimated population of about 50,000 in 2023, where as Alabama had about 5,075,000 in 2023.

History

Ancient

The rock paintings and engravings in Tibesti bear witness to an ancient civilization from 25,000 B.C. There are rock engravings in the area of Zouar, featuring, among others, cows eating fresh grass, attesting to the wet past of the Sahara.[citation needed] The area has historically been mainly inhabited by the Toubou people.

Age of Colonisation

In 1869

Bornu, and was the first European to travel the Tibesti region from Zouar to Bardaï.[2] Condemned by the traditional assembly of the Toubou to capital punishment for espionage, he appealed, but this was rejected. He was only released upon the intervention of Maï Arami Tetimi
. Upon his return to Germany he published the book Sahara and the Sudan detailing his experiences.

The capital, Bardaï, was invaded by the Ottoman Empire in 1908, and by 1911 they had 60 men and 6 cannons in the town.[3]

The area fell under French rule during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. Prior to 1931 much of the region belonged to what is now Niger as part of the French West Africa colony.[4]

First Chadian Civil War

Claustre Affair

Main article: Claustre Affair

in 1974, during the

First Chadian Civil War, rebels led by Toubou nationalist Hissène Habré captured French archaeologist Françoise Claustre, Marc Combe (also French), an assistant to Mrs. Claustre's husband, and Christoph Staewen, a German physician. Stray bullets killed Staewen's wife. The trio were captured near Bardaï in the desert of the Tibesti Region. Combe later escaped and Staewen was released after a ransom was paid by the German government.[5] Combe would later write a book about his experiences, Otage au Tibesti.[5]

Rebels also established a radio station in Bardaï called "Voice of the Liberation of Chad", also known as Radio Free Bardaï.[6] An opposition leader, Goukouni Oueddei, established a base in the Tibesti region in the early 1980s with Libyan military backing.[7] In December, 1986, Habré attacked the Libyans in the Tibesti region around Bardaï.[8]

Post-war

In the late 2000s-early 2010s gold was discovered in the region, prompting a gold rush which has brought much insecurity to the region.[9] In September 2019 about 30 people died following the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Kouri Bougoudi.[10]

2021 offensive

An offensive from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) rebel group began in the region on the day of the 2021 Chadian presidential election. On 20 April, President Idriss Déby was killed while visiting the frontlines of the conflict, the country's borders has been shut as a result of this.[11]

Geography

The region borders

Sahara Desert. It contains parts of the Tibesti Mountains, and also part of the Erg of Bilma, a vast area of sand dunes in the centre of the desert. The region's northern border lies within the Aouzou Strip, historically a point of dispute between Chad and Libya.[12]

Settlements

The regional capital is

Bardaï; other major settlements include Aouzou, Goubonne, Wour, Zouar and Zoumri.[13]

Demographics

The region had a population of 25,483 at the time of the 2009 Chadian census.

Tedaga Toubou.[14]

Subdivisions

The region of Tibesti is divided into two departments:

Department Capital Sub-prefectures
Tibesti Est Bardaï Bardaï, Zoumri, Aouzou, Yebbibou
Tibesti Ouest
Zouar
 Zouar, Wour, Goubonne

References

  1. ^ a b c DEUXIEME RECENSEMENT GENERAL DE LA POPULATION ET DE L’HABITAT: RESULTATS GLOBAUX DEFINITIFS (PDF) (Report). INSEED. March 2012. p. 24. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. ISBN 978-1-85065-524-4
    .
  3. OCLC 22001923
    .
  4. ^ International Boundary Study No. 73 – Chad-Niger Boundary (PDF), 1 August 1966, retrieved 5 October 2019
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-136-20279-7
    .
  6. OCLC 67361640
    .
  7. OCLC 694786807
    .
  8. OCLC 815276695
    .
  9. ^ BBC - Chad gold mine collapse leaves about 30 people dead, 26 September 2019
  10. ^ Al Jazeera - Many feared dead in Chad gold mine collapse: Minister, 26 September 2019
  11. ^ "Chad President Idriss Deby dies visiting front-line troops: Army". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  12. ^ Geoffrey Leslie Simons, Libya and the West: from independence to Lockerbie, Centre for Libyan Studies (Oxford, England). Pg. 57
  13. UNOCHA
    . Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Languages of Chad". Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 September 2019.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tibesti_Region&oldid=1181132774"