The Rally of Forces for Change (in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Rassemblement des forces pour le changement'' or RFC), formerly the Rally of Democratic Forces (in

: ''Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques'' or RaFD) is a Chadian rebel group formed mainly by Zaghawa, ethnic group to which President Idriss Déby belonged, deserters from the Chadian government and army and led by Timane and his twin brother Tom Erdimi. It is currently allied 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 group and both were dedicated to overthrowing Erdimi's uncle,

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 ...

and his

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. The 12,000 troops that make up the RFC were expected to disrupt the 2006 presidential elections, but they did not, and President Déby returned to power.

September 2006 government offensive

On September 19, 2006, the

Government of Chad The Government of Chad (French: ''Gouvernement du Tchad'') has been ruled by Mahamat Déby since 20 April 2021 as part of the National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established ...

began a campaign involving 3,000 against the RFC, according to the

Military of Chad The Chadian National Army (; , ANT) consists of the five Defence and Security Forces listed in Article 185 of the Chadian constitution of 2018, Chadian Constitution that came into effect on 4 May 2018. These are the National Army (including Chadi ...

. The troops attacked RFC rebels at the Hadjer Marfaine area bordering

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 ...

,Chad: New Offensive Targets Rebels
IndiaDaily while simultaneously attacking other groups within the UFDC at Moudeina, and Aram Kolle. Mahamat Inee, RFC spokesperson, said, "We were attacked by two columns of government troops on 19 September, but we repelled them." Inee said the RFC took 43 government soldiers prisoner, and seized 40 jeeps and trucks and two tanks. He confirmed news reports that

Mirage fighter jets stationed in Abeche made surveillance runs over the RFC's position. Timane Edrimi warned that "all French citizens, military or civil, that fall into the hands of our combatants will be considered like

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

and treated accordingly."Chad: New Fronts Open in Eastern Fighting
allAfrica.com

References

{{Chadian-Sudanese conflict Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) Rebel groups in Chad