Aozou Strip
Encyclopedia
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
which lies along the border with Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region for an area of 114,000 km². The region played a significant role in the Chadian–Libyan conflict.
Inclusion in Italian Libya
The Aouzou strip was defined for the first time in the discussions between France and Italy after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in relation to an award to Italy for the victory in that war. At the Paris Peace Conference, 1919
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
did not receive any of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colonies, but instead was given the Oltre Giuba from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and France agreed to give some Saharan territories to Italian Libya
Italian Libya
Italian Libya was a unified colony of Italian North Africa established in 1934 in what represents present-day Libya...
.
After many discussions during the 1920s, in 1935 the Franco-Italian Agreement was signed between Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, which included a provision under which Italy would receive the Aouzou strip, which was to be added to Libya. France's other motivations in concluding this agreement with Italy were to settle the status of the Italian Tunisian community in its protectorate of the country
French Protectorate of Tunisia
The French protectorate of Tunisia was established in 1881, during the Scramble for Africa, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956....
, to remove irredentist Italian claims
Italia irredenta
Italian irredentism was an Italian Irredentist movement that aimed at the unification of all ethnically Italian peoples....
to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, and to prevent Italy from growing closer to Nazi Germany by keeping it closely aligned with France and the United Kingdom (the Stresa Front
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between French foreign minister Pierre Laval, British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini on April 14, 1935...
).
This policy failed two years later after Italy drifted into the German orbit by concluding the Pact of Steel
Pact of Steel
The Pact of Steel , known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the foreign ministers of each country and witnessed by Count Galeazzo Ciano for Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop...
with Nazi Germany, leading to the "instruments of ratification" of the Mussolini-Laval Treaty never being exchanged with France. Despite this the new border was conventionally assumed to be the southern boundary of Libya until 1955.
History
Claimed to be rich in uraniumUranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
deposits, the area was the cause of dispute with Libya, which led to a war between the two countries. In 1973, Libya engaged in military operations in the Aouzou Strip to gain access to minerals and to use it as a base of influence in Chadian politics. This ultimately resulted in the Chadian–Libyan conflict.
Libya argued that the territory was inhabited by indigenous people who owed vassalage to the Senoussi Order and subsequently to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and that this title had been inherited by Libya. It also supported its claim with an unratified 1935 treaty between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(the Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
-Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
Treaty), the colonial powers of Chad and Libya, respectively, that confirmed the possession of the strip by Italy. After consolidating its hold on the strip, Libya annexed it in 1976.
The frontier claimed by the Chadian government was based on a 1955 treaty between France and Libya, which, in turn, referred back to an 1899 agreement between Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France about "spheres of influence". Despite other differences, this was one position on which all Chadian political parties and factions were able to agree.
During the so-called Toyota War
Toyota War
The Toyota War is the name commonly given to the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan conflict, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Libyan-Chadian border. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks used as technicals to provide mobility for the Chadian troops as they fought...
in 1987, the final stage of the Chadian–Libyan conflict, Chadian forces were able to force the Libyans to retreat from the Aouzou Strip. A cease-fire between Chad and Libya held from 1987 to 1988, followed by unsuccessful negotiations over the next several years. Finally a 1994 International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
decision
Case Concerning the Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad)
The Case Concerning the Territorial Dispute was brought before the International Court of Justice in 1994 and decided by the court in 1994. The case was won by Chad, whose sovereignty over Aouzou Strip was affirmed .-External links:*...
found (by a majority of 16 to 1) in favour of Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou strip, and ended the Libyan claim.
The United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
established the United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group in Resolution 915
United Nations Security Council Resolution 915
United Nations Security Council Resolution 915, adopted unanimously on May 4, 1994, after reaffirming Resolution 910 , the Council, acting on a recommendation by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, established the United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group to supervise the withdrawal of...
(May 1994) to monitor the withdrawal of Libyan troops, and was terminated in Resolution 926
United Nations Security Council Resolution 926
United Nations Security Council Resolution 926, adopted unanimously on June 13, 1994, after reaffirming Resolution 915 , the Council commended the work of the United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group and the co-operation of Libya and Chad and decided, with immediate effect, to terminate the...
(June 1994) when it was completed.