Mohammed Nour Abdelkerim (born 1960) is a former

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 rebel leader. After signing a peace agreement with the government, he served as Minister of Defense for nine months in 2007. Born in eastern Chad, of Tama ethnicity, Nour is a nephew of Mahamat Garfa and cousin of Mahamat Abbo Sileck. He founded and led the rebel group

Rally for Democracy and Liberty The Rally for Democracy and Liberty, abbreviated as R.D.L. (Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et la Liberté in French) and sometimes translated as Rally for Democracy and Freedom, is a Chadian rebel group that was formed in August 2005 by forme ...

until it became a subsidiary to the

United Front for Democratic Change The United Front for Democratic Change (, ; FUC) was a Chadian rebel alliance, made up of eight individual rebel groups, all with the goals of overthrowing the government of Chadian president Idriss Déby. It is now part of the Union of Forces ...

rebel alliance, led by Nour and formed between 26 and 28 December 2005. Nour masterminded the Second Battle of Adré on December 18, 2005, that ended with the deaths of either 100 or 300 rebels. After the attack,

Chadian President This is a list of heads of state of Chad since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of six people have served as head of state of Chad (not counting two Interim Heads of State). Additionally, one pers ...

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...

declared a

state of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...

with

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The first battle of the Chad-Sudan conflict took place on December 26 when Chadian troops crossed the border with Sudan while pursuing the RDL.

Interview with Opheera McDoom

Mohammed Nour was interviewed by Opheera McDoom, the first time he was interviewed by a

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journalist, on 13 February 2006. He told McDoom that Chadian army deserters join UFDC ranks every day, and that the troops bring their weapons and supplies with them. Colonel Ahmed Youssef Bishara's defection alone brings 1,800 new troops. "There's not been anything as big as this in all my experience. Here we have many heavy weapons and many troops -- much more than Déby had. Déby has taken the money from the Chadian people -- now we want freedom. We have people in the high ranks with us. When Déby is sleeping we know what he just ate for dinner."

Peace agreement

Nour signed a peace agreement with Déby in

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point ...

on December 24, 2006, speaking of the need for reconciliation. Other rebel groups rejected this and said they would continue to fight. On March 4, 2007, he was named Minister of Defense as part of a cabinet reshuffle in the new government of Prime Minister

Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye Nouradine Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye (; born December 31, 1949

. The disarming and integration of FUC fighters into the army, as provided for in the peace agreement, went poorly, and clashes erupted between FUC fighters and the army."Chadian defence minister sacked"
BBC News, December 1, 2007. Following fighting at Goz-Beïda on October 18, 2007, Nour ordered FUC fighters accept integration into the army, threatening that those who did not would face punishment for insubordination and would be considered deserters. The situation reportedly led to distrust between Déby and Nour and doubts about the loyalty of FUC fighters to the government. Amid escalating fighting in the east with another rebel group, the

Union of Forces for Democracy and Development The Union of Forces for Democracy and Development is the largest group of Chadian rebel forces opposed to former President Idriss Déby. It was formed in October 2006 under the leadership of Mahamat Nouri. The group consists of: * United Fron ...

, Déby dismissed Nour from the government on December 1, 2007, without giving a reason."Chad's President Fires His Defense Minister"
VOA News, December 1, 2007. Nour's anti-

Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to: * Zaghawa people * Zaghawa language Zaghawa is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, ...

sentiments were well known and so a break between Nour and Deby was only a matter of time. Nour took refuge in the Libyan embassy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelkerim, Mohammed Nour Chadian rebels Living people 1960 births Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) Defense ministers of Chad

Interview with Opheera McDoom

Peace agreement

See also

References