Officially, the 6-year compulsory school is for anyone aged 6 to 12 years. The primary school is 6 years old. The high school is 7 years old (4 + 3). In 2002, 63% of the relevant age group attended primary school. The University of N’Djamena was opened in 1971. According to UNESCO (2002), approx. 54% of the adult population is illiterate.

• A2zdirectory: Describes prehistory and early history of Chad. Includes history from colony to an independent nation.

• Countryaah: Get latest country flag of Chad and find basic information about Chad including population, religion, languages, etc.

France led an international campaign against the Libyan expansion in Africa, and was backed by the United States, Egypt, Sudan and other African nations, fearing that Khaddafi’s project would spread to other Islamic communities in the Sahel, sub-Saharan Africa.

Habré was accused of opportunism and corruption, but Libyan assistance to Oueddei enabled France to break its alliance. In April 1981, Habré tried to reorganize his followers in Sudan. In July, the OAU decided in Nairobi to send a peace force to Chad, with assistance from France and soldiers from 6 African countries. The presence of this peace force led to internal conflicts in GUNT. In November, Oueddei asked Khaddafi to withdraw his forces.

Following the defeat of Habré in June 1982, in October of that year, Oueddei formed a provisional government of exile, in cooperation with 11 of the groups that had fought against Habré in 1980. The country is divided again in two: the northern part, led by a National Liberation Council with assistance from Libya, and the southern part controlled by Habré and the French forces.

When Habré, at the end of this stage of the civil war, took power, the country was on the brink of ruin. The population of the capital N’Djamena had dwindled to 40,000; half of the country’s SMEs were closed. Outside the urban areas, 2000 drinking water wells and water towers had been destroyed. The infrastructure in the health and education sectors was virtually non-existent.

In this situation, an extensive period of drought occurred, which, despite assistance from the United States and France, led to popular demonstrations and peasant revolts in the southern part of the country. The subsequent suppression campaign drove 25,000 to flee to the Central African Republic.

In 1987, the southern armed forces, which received assistance from France, declared that they had occupied the cities of Fada, Faya Largeau and the border region of Aouzou, which Libya claimed. In 1989, Chad and Libya signed an agreement on this territory of 114,000 km ², which preceded the mutual release of prisoners and a subsequent trial in the Hague Court regarding the ownership of Aouzou.

Idriss Deby, head of the MPS and assisted by the French, crashed Habré in 1990 after three months of warfare. During the presidential reign of the 1980s, some 40,000 people were either murdered or “disappeared”.

Habré fled to Senegal, where he began preparations for a new uprising. 5,000 rebel supporters of the former president retreated to the N’Guimi region near Lake Chad, from which they launched several offensives. 400 rebels were killed while 100 were taken prisoner in 1992, when government forces with the help of France stifled a revolt from Habré-loyal soldiers.

Deby opened an official national “democratization conference” in 1993 with the participation of 40 opposition parties, 20 organizations and 6 armed rebel movements. Adoum Maurice El-Bongo was named president of the conference, which set up a special court to bring proceedings against Habré. Fidéle Moungar was appointed prime minister during a transitional period.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague issued a ruling in February 1994, according to which the border region Aouzou belonged to Chad. Following the conclusion of an agreement between the government and the IMF in April, the Supreme Transitional Council postponed the holding of elections by one year. Libya officially surrendered Aouzou to Chad in May.