The Chad–Libya border is 1,050 km (652 mi) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSudan in the east.

Description

The border consists of two straight line segments. The first is a continuation of the Libya–Niger border; this section continues from the tripoint in a straight line for about 113 km (70 mi) up to the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...

. The border then turns to the southeast, running for 942 km (586 mi) to the tripoint with Sudan. The border lies wholly within the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, cutting through parts of the

Tibesti Mountains The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and i ...

in the far west. The remote

Bikku Bitti Bikku Bitti, also known as Bette Peak, is the highest mountain in Libya at ."Bikku-bitti" on Peakery
Retrieved 28 Septemb ...

mountain is located very close to the border on the Libyan side."Pic Bette, Libya" on Peakbagger
Retrieved 28 September 2011

History

The

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

had ruled the coastal areas of what is today Libya since the 16th century, organised into the

Vilayet of Tripolitania The coastal region of what is today Libya was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. First, from 1551 to 1864, as the Eyalet of Tripolitania ( ota, ایالت طرابلس غرب ''Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârb'') or ''Bey and Subjects of Tri ...

, with an ill-defined border in the south. The modern border with what is now Chad first emerged during the Scramble for Africa, a period of intense competition between European powers in the later 19th century for territory and influence in Africa. The process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements. As a result of this

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

gained control of the upper valley of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

and Niger), and also the lands explored by

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, later known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905), was an Italian-born, naturalized French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogoou ...

for France in Central Africa (roughly equivalent to modern

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

and

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

). From these bases the French explored further into the interior, eventually linking the two areas following expeditions in April 1900 which met at

Kousséri Kousséri (from ar, قصور ''quṣūr'' meaning "palaces"), founded and known as Mser in the indigenous Mser language is a city in Far North Province, Cameroon. It is the capital of the Logone-et-Chari department. It is a market town, and ...

in the far north of modern

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. These newly conquered regions were initially ruled as military territories, with the two areas later organised into the federal colonies of French West Africa (''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF) and

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

(''Afrique équatoriale française'', AEF).

British-French Agreement of 1899

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and France had agreed between them on 21 March 1899 that east of the Niger River, French influence would extend no further north than that of a diagonal line running from the intersection of the

and the 16th meridian east to the

24th meridian east The meridian 24° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 24th meridian ...

, thus creating the long line section of the modern Chad–Libya border. The Ottomans protested this treaty and began moving troops into the southern regions of the Vilayet of Tripolitania.

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

meanwhile sought to emulate the colonial expansion of the other European powers, and they indicated their recognition of the above line to France on 1 November 1902. In September 1911 Italy invaded the Tripolitania, and the

Treaty of Ouchy The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

was signed the following year by which the Ottomans formally ceded sovereignty of the area over to Italy. The Italians organised the newly conquered regions into the colonies of

Italian Cyrenaica Italian Cyrenaica (; ) was an Italian colony, located in present-day eastern Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, alongside Italian Tripolitani ...

and

Italian Tripolitania Italian Tripolitania was an Italian colony, located in present-day western Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire after the Italo-Turkish War in 1911. Italian Tripolitania included t ...

and gradually began pushing further the south. In 1934 they united the two territories into

Italian Libya Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...

. Meanwhile, Britain and France had settled the border between AEF and

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

(modern Sudan) in 1923–24, thus creating the modern Chad-Sudan border. In 1934 Britain and Italy confirmed the border between Italian Libya and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, by which Britain ceded the Sarra Triangle to Italy, extending Libyan territory to the southwest and thereby creating the modern Libya-Sudan border and much of the modern Chad–Libya border.

Aouzou Strip

On 18 March 1931 France transferred the

from Niger (AOF) to Chad (AEF), thus completing what is now the Chad–Libya border. On 7 January 1935 France and Italy signed a treaty which shifted the boundary southwards; the area between the two boundaries became known as the Aouzou Strip, however this agreement was never formally ratified by both parties.Hodder, Lloyd, McLachlan (1998). ''Land-locked states of Africa and Asia, Volume 2''
p. 32
Frank Cass, London, Great Britain. During the North African Campaign of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Italy was defeated and its African colonies were occupied by the Allied powers, with Libya split into British and French zones of occupation. Libya was later granted full independence on 2 December 1951. A Franco-Libyan treaty was signed on 1 August 1955 which recognised the existing boundary and confirmed French ownership of the Aouzou Strip. Chad later gained independence from France on 11 August 1960 and the border became an international frontier between two independent states.

Libyan Border

In 1969 Muammar Gaddafi seized power in Libya and reignited the Libyan claim to the Aouzou Strip, bolstered by the possibility that the area could be rich in

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

. Gaddafi also began interfering in Chadian affairs, actively supporting

FROLINAT FROLINAT (french: Front de libération nationale du Tchad; en, National Liberation Front of Chad) was an insurgent rebel group active in Chad between 1966 and 1993. Origins The organization was a result of the political union between the left ...

anti-government forces in the first Chadian Civil War and moving troops into northern Chad. As relations between the two states deteriorated, various secret discussions were held; Gaddafi claimed that as part of these Chadian President

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( ar, فرنسوا تومبالباي '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until ...

had ceded the Strip to Libya in 1972, however the claimed cession was disputed and the precise details remain unclear. In 1975 Chadian President

Goukouni Oueddei Goukouni Oueddei ( ar, كوكوني عويدي '; born 1944 in Zouar) is a Chadian politician who served as President of Chad from 1979 to 1982. A northerner, Goukouni commanded FROLINAT rebels with Libyan support during the first Chadian Civ ...

publicly denounced Libya's presence in the Strip. There followed the Chadian-Libyan conflict, which lasted until 1987, whereupon the two countries agreed to resolved the border dispute peacefully. In 1990 the Aouzou case was referred to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

, which ruled in 1994 that the Strip belonged to Chad. Since then the situation on this remote border quietened considerably. However, in recent years the border has been the focus of renewed attention due to the ongoing instability in Libya since the overthrow of Gaddafi in 2011, the rise in the numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Sahara, and also the discovery of gold in north-west Chad in the late 2000s-early 2010s which prompted an uncontrolled gold rush. In March 2019 Chadian President

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...

announced that the border would close, citing the crossing of the frontier by Libyan-based anti-government rebel groups into Chadian territory (most notably the

Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic The Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (; abbreviated CCMSR) is a Chadian militant rebel group that seeks to overthrow the government of Chad. Founded in 2016, it currently operates in the border regions of northern Chad, so ...

; French: ''Conseil de commandement militaire pour le salut de la République'', abbreviated CCMSR) and the continuing instability caused by the civil war in Libya. As part of

Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane was an anti-insurgent operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region.Chadian Army french: Armée nationale tchadienne , image = , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto ...

with guarding the border, including launching air strikes against anti-government rebels.

References