Biltine
| Biltine بلتن |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 14 ° 32 ' N , 20 ° 55' E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Chad | ||
| Wadi Fira | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | TD-WF | ||
| height | 512 m | ||
| Residents | 26,453 (2013) | ||
| politics | |||
| mayor | Habib Adoudou (2013) | ||
Biltine ( Arabic بلتن, DMG Biltin ) is a city in the east of the African landlocked state Chad with around 26,000 inhabitants (2013). The city is the capital of the Wadi Fira region .
history
On November 25, 2006, Biltine was occupied by the two rebel groups fighting against the central government, the UFDD and the RAFD , in the wake of the last Chadian civil war (2005-2010) . The two groups had previously evacuated the larger Abéché further south after an advance by the Chadian army. Biltine was liberated by the Chadian army after only one day, which was marked by fierce fighting. On June 16, 2008, Biltine was the scene of the Battle of Biltine , in the course of which the rebels defeated government forces.
climate
Biltine is located in the Sahel zone and therefore has a very arid climate with only around 300 mm of annual precipitation. The wettest months are the summer months, especially August, during which around half of the annual precipitation falls. From the beginning of October to the end of March, however, there is generally no rain at all.
Daytime temperatures usually never drop below 20 ° C. The hottest months are April, May and June, when monthly average temperatures of over 30 ° C are reached.
Economy and Infrastructure
Due to the climatic conditions, agricultural production is only possible to a limited extent and is dominated by nomadic pastoralism . In this regard, the Mortcha area north of Biltine is of particular importance, which is an important pasture area for their cattle during the rainy season for numerous nomads of Chad.
Biltine is characterized by poverty and underdevelopment, which is mainly due to the unstable political situation in eastern Chad and the difficult climatic conditions in the region.
According to Doctors Without Borders , around 24.3% of children up to the age of 5 in the city were acutely malnourished in 2012 , which is almost 10% above the risk threshold defined by the United Nations .
In addition, like the neighboring region of Wadai , Wadi Fira continues to struggle very hard with the influx of refugees from the Sudan affected by the Darfur conflict . In addition, there are relatively frequent major crop failures in the region due to lack of precipitation, the chaos of war and plagues of locusts .
Biltine is located 93 km north of Abéché and 847 km east of the Chadian capital N'Djamena and is connected to it by trunk roads. There is a domestic airport in Biltine, which is 2.8 km outside the city. The two mountains Hadjer Botonou and Hadjer Kougnen are considered to be sights in the vicinity of Biltine .
In 2012, the Chadian government provided more than 18 billion CFA francs (27.5 million euros) to sustainably improve the infrastructure in and around Biltine. With this money the modernization of local schools, the hospital and the cattle market was financed. In addition, the government plans to complete the renovation and expansion of the road to Abéché by 2014. This is intended to commercially "revive" Biltine, which has suffered greatly from the chaos of war. In the same year, the city hosted the national celebrations for the Day of Freedom and Democracy . With a view to the further consolidation and development of Biltine and its surroundings, there is also increasing speculation about as yet undiscovered mineral resources in the region.
Personalities
The Chadian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Moussa Faki was born in Biltine in 1960. The Chadian opposition politician Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh , who disappeared without a trace after his arrest in 2008 and is probably dead, was also born and raised in Biltine. Mahamat Abdoulaye Senoussi (1952-2019), Chadian diplomat, also came from Biltine.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 11, 2013
- ↑ BBC (2006): Chad Denies rebel move on capital , April 11, 2013 (English)
- ↑ a b Biltine on Travelingluck.com , April 11, 2013 (English)
- ↑ a b Climate data and tables for Biltine on Gaisma.com , April 11, 2013 (English)
- ↑ a b c The Sahara regions of Chad on Mongabay.com , April 11, 2013 (English)
- ↑ a b Doctors without Borders (2012): Chad Facing Malnutrition and Meningitis Emergencies ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 11, 2013
- ↑ Biltine on Mbendi.com ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 11, 2013
- ↑ Biltine on Mongabay.com ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 11, 2013
- ↑ a b Tchadinfos.com (March 27, 2013) - Tchad: Biltine veut jouer pleinement son rôle de center d'échanges , May 24, 2013 (French).
