Volcan Army
Encyclopedia
The Volcan Army was a Chad
ian insurgent rebel group that was active during the Chadian Civil War
. The movement was founded in 1970 by the Arab
insurgent leader Mohamed Baghlani
, who had been expelled in June from the FROLINAT
by the organization's secretary-general Abba Siddick
. The new group was of islamist
tendency and was mainly composed of Arabs who shunned Siddick's leadership of the FROLINAT; it was based in Libya
. For several years, till about 1975, the Volcan Army was a negligible force on the ground; after that it started slowly expanding. Among the new members arrived in 1976 Ahmat Acyl who attacked Baghlani's authority with the support of Libya in January 1977; and when Baghlani died in a car accident in Benghazi
on March 27, Acyl became the new leader of the militia with the full support of the Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi
, of whom Acyl was to become his most loyal man in Chad.
Under Acyl's leadership the group rapidly expanded, coordinating its activities with Oueddei Goukouni's larger People's Armed Forces
(FAP) in the prefectures
of Biltine
and Salamat
. While remaining much fewer in numbers than both the FAP and the Armed Forces of the North
(FAN), its 400-500 men were reputed to be among the most resolute fighters of the insurgency. Its expansion represented the participation in the civil war of the populations of central Chad, especially of the major Arab bedouin
tribes. The Volcan Army was often accused of tribalism, with its deep suspicion for the zuruq, the blacks, and in particular for the Gorane (i.e. Toubou
) which dominated the FAP and FAN.
These suspicions erupted in the summer of 1978 when the Volcan forces attacked, sobilliated by Qaddafi, the FAP's positions at Faya-Largeau
, but were easily repelled. Since the Volcan Army had become by the first months of the year the group most heavily supported by Libya, Goukouni readily understood that the Libyans were behind the acretaliated by breaking all ties with Qaddafi.
Relations between Acyl and Goukouni were still frosty in 1979, when Goukouni temporarily allied himself with Hissène Habré
in February during the battle of N'Djamena
, in which the southern-dominated government disintegrated.
The international community, led by Nigeria
, tried to bring order to the expanding chaos in Chad through a series of international peace conferences. But the first peace conference held in March excluded minor factions, like the Volcan Army; as a reaction they created the Front for Joint Provisional Action (FACP), a counter-government supported by Libya and opposed to the new Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT). As the first compromise proposals failed, the FACP swiftly renamed itself Democratic Revolutionary Council
(CDR), and assumed as its leader Ahmat Acyl. By this moment the Volcan Army was to be known as the CDR.
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...
ian insurgent rebel group that was active during the Chadian Civil War
Chadian Civil War
The Transitional Government of National Unity was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running civil war that began in 1965. The GUNT replaced the fragile alliance led by Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré,...
. The movement was founded in 1970 by the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
insurgent leader Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani
Mohamed Baghlani was a Chadian insurgent leader during the Chadian Civil War.-Formation of FROLINAT:Baghlani was the most prominent Arab member of the Chadian National Union , an Islamic political party founded in 1958 and officially banned by the government of Chad in 1962. It survived as an...
, who had been expelled in June from the FROLINAT
FROLINAT
-Origins:The organization was born as the result of a political union between the leftist Chadian National Union , led by Ibrahim Abatcha, and the General Union of the Children of Chad which was led by Ahmed Hassan Musa. Musa was close to the Muslim Brotherhood and was an Islamist...
by the organization's secretary-general Abba Siddick
Abba Siddick
Abba Siddick is a Muslim Chadian politician and revolutionary born in what was the Oubangui-Chari French colony . In passing in Chad , he entered in active politics in the Chadian Progressive Party , a nationalist and radical African political party founded in 1947 and led by Gabriel Lisette...
. The new group was of islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
tendency and was mainly composed of Arabs who shunned Siddick's leadership of the FROLINAT; it was based in 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....
. For several years, till about 1975, the Volcan Army was a negligible force on the ground; after that it started slowly expanding. Among the new members arrived in 1976 Ahmat Acyl who attacked Baghlani's authority with the support of Libya in January 1977; and when Baghlani died in a car accident in Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
on March 27, Acyl became the new leader of the militia with the full support of the Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, of whom Acyl was to become his most loyal man in Chad.
Under Acyl's leadership the group rapidly expanded, coordinating its activities with Oueddei Goukouni's larger People's Armed Forces
People's Armed Forces
The People's Armed Forces was a Chadian insurgent group composed of followers of Goukouni Oueddei after the schism with Hissène Habré in 1976...
(FAP) in the prefectures
Prefectures of Chad
Chad was divided into 14 prefectures from 1960, the year of independence, to 1999, when the country was divided in 28 departments:A further reorganisation in 2002 divided the country into the current 18 regions.NB : Alphabetic order...
of Biltine
Biltine Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Biltine was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the east of the country, Biltine covered an area of 46,850 square kilometers and had a population of 184,807 in 1993. Its capital...
and Salamat
Salamat Prefecture
This article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Salamat was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the southeast of the country, Salamat covered an area of 63,000 square kilometers and had a population of 184,403 in 1993...
. While remaining much fewer in numbers than both the FAP and the Armed Forces of the North
Armed Forces of the North
The Armed Forces of the North was a Chadian rebel army active during the Chadian Civil War. Composed of FROLINAT units that remained loyal to Hissène Habré following his break from Goukouni Oueddei and the CCFAN in 1976...
(FAN), its 400-500 men were reputed to be among the most resolute fighters of the insurgency. Its expansion represented the participation in the civil war of the populations of central Chad, especially of the major Arab bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribes. The Volcan Army was often accused of tribalism, with its deep suspicion for the zuruq, the blacks, and in particular for the Gorane (i.e. Toubou
Toubou
The Tubu are an ethnic group that live mainly in northern Chad, but also in Libya, Niger and Sudan....
) which dominated the FAP and FAN.
These suspicions erupted in the summer of 1978 when the Volcan forces attacked, sobilliated by Qaddafi, the FAP's positions at Faya-Largeau
Faya-Largeau
Located in the Sahara, Faya's climate is classed as hot desert on the Köppen climate classification. It experiences hot winters and very hot summers with the peak average maximum temperature reaching in May and the average minimum reaching its lowest in January at . Rainfall averages out at about...
, but were easily repelled. Since the Volcan Army had become by the first months of the year the group most heavily supported by Libya, Goukouni readily understood that the Libyans were behind the acretaliated by breaking all ties with Qaddafi.
Relations between Acyl and Goukouni were still frosty in 1979, when Goukouni temporarily allied himself with Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...
in February during the battle of N'Djamena
Battle of N'Djamena
The Battle of N'Djamena was a battle between the forces of the revolutionary United Front for Democratic Change and the military of Chad that occurred on 13 April 2006 when rebel forces launched an assault on the capital of Chad in the pre-dawn hours, attempting to overthrow the government of...
, in which the southern-dominated government disintegrated.
The international community, led by Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, tried to bring order to the expanding chaos in Chad through a series of international peace conferences. But the first peace conference held in March excluded minor factions, like the Volcan Army; as a reaction they created the Front for Joint Provisional Action (FACP), a counter-government supported by Libya and opposed to the new Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT). As the first compromise proposals failed, the FACP swiftly renamed itself Democratic Revolutionary Council
Democratic Revolutionary Council
The Democratic Revolutionary Council was a faction of FROLINAT founded by Ahmat Acyl and later headed by Acheikh ibn Oumar and was also known as the New Vulcan Army....
(CDR), and assumed as its leader Ahmat Acyl. By this moment the Volcan Army was to be known as the CDR.