Volcan Army
The Volcan Army was a Chadian rebel group that mainly acted during the Libyan-Chadian border war .
history
The Volcan Army was created in 1975 by splitting off from the Front de Liberation Nationale du Tchad (FROLINAT) , which took a pro-Libyan course. The reasons for the split were the rejection of the General Secretary of FROLINAT, Dr. Abba Siddick, as well as the ethnic division of FROLINAT into Tubus , such as Goukouni Oueddei , and Arabs, such as Ahmed Acyl and Hissene Habre . The Volcan Army consisted almost exclusively of Arabs who left FROLINAT and joined the Volcan Army.
Alignment
The Volcan Army was strongly Islamic and was allied with Libya's ruler Gaddafi . Since this also supported Oueddeis FAP , there were combat missions by FAP and Volcan Army, in which the Volcan Army played no significant role, as it was materially and numerically clearly inferior to the FAP and the Libyan armed forces.
leader
The first leader of the Volcan Army was Mohammad Baghalani , who died in a car accident in Tripoli in 1977. Then Ahmat Acyl became the new chairman of the Volcan Army, but was replaced by Acheikh Ibn Oumar after his death in 1982 .
Operation area
The Volcan Army operated in several locations in Chad, particularly in the east near the Sudan border , where fighters were recruited. The Volcan Army was also present in the province of Tibesti , which was repeatedly at the center of the fighting between Libya and Chad. There was a third group in the Kanem region in western Chad.
Conflict with Oueddei
In 1978 there was a conflict between Acyl, who was considered a confidante of Gaddafi, and Oueddei, who, as the leader of the FAP, was also allied with Gaddafi. With Libyan support, Volcan Army fighters attacked FAP troops in Faya-Largeau with the aim of overthrowing Oueddei and establishing Acyl as a powerful man in the FAP. But the attack was repulsed. The relationship between Acyl and Oueddei remained strained as a result.
resolution
Large parts of the Volcan Army went into the Democratic Revolutionary Council or New Volcan Army founded by Acyl.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kenneth Pollack: Arabs at War: Military Effecitveness 1948-1991 . Ed .: University of Nebraska Press.
- ^ MJ Azevedo: The Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad . Ed .: University of North Carolina. S. 73 .
- ^ History (Chad) . ISBN 978-1-159-01892-4 .