Massakory () is the
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
of the
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
ian
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Hadjer-Lamis
Hadjer-Lamis () is one of the 23 provinces of Chad, located in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Massakory. It corresponds to part of the former prefecture of Chari-Baguirmi (sub-prefectures of Bokoro and of Massakory) and parts of N' ...
and of the
department of
Dagana. The town was formerly in the prefecture of Fort-Lamy in the department of Bas-Chari.
People
The territory around Massakory used to be ruled by the sultan of
Ouaddaï. Two tribes dominate this region: the Dagana, nomadic herders, in the interior and the Kouri Kalé on the shores and islands of the western part of the lake.
The Bulala, who live near Massagory, are said to be Arab in origin. They helped to found the
Kanem kingdom, and helped to expel the Kanem royal family in the 13th century. They were later forced to move to the Yao region where they created a small Sultanate and settled into an agricultural lifestyle, although they are said to be good warriors.
The French colonialists created the post of Massakory in the Dagana territory in 1901.
In 1925 the Bas-Chari region supplied 1,500 workers to work on the Congo-Ocean railway line.
During the French colonial era, laws were enforced harshly. In the Massakory ''circonscription'' of about 30,000 people in 1932, two percent were in jail.
Economy
The population of the town of Massakory was 11,344 in 1993, and had increased to 16,237 by 2008.
In recent years the town and region has been "invaded" from the north by Libyan importers, as have other arid and semi-arid parts of northern Chad.
The cattle market, once important, has steadily declined due to the advance of the desert and political instability in the area around the shrinking
Lake Chad
Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...
.
The town lies on the Nigeria/Niger corridor of Chad national highway system, running from
N'Djamena
N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris.
Originally calle ...
to
Bol. As of 2005, between N'Djamena and
Massaguet
Massaguet (Arabic: المساقط, al-Masāqiṭ) is a city in Hadjer-Lamis region, western Chad. It is located at around .
An 86.6 km (87 km) highway completed in 1969 connects Massaguet with N'Djamena
N'Djamena ( ) is the capital c ...
had been completed, while the remainder of the corridor had yet to start due to lack of funding.
By 2008 the paved road had reached Massakory.
The road is intended to facilitate access to a new oil refinery that is being built at
Djermaya to the north of the capital.
Massakory Airport is a civilian airport with an unpaved runway of in length.
References
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Hadjer-Lamis Region
Populated places in Chad