SUMMARY
The Toubou (alternatively Tubu, Tibu, Tibbu, Tebu, Tubu, or Tebou) are an ethnic group that inhabits parts of Chad, Libya, Niger, and Sudan; while no reliable total estimation exists, the Toubou population is believed to number between 120 000 and several hundred thousand. The group is divided into two major branches, the Teda (which speak the Tedaga language) and the Gorane (alternatively called the “Dazaga”, which is also the name of their primary language). The Teda-Toubou primarily reside in the Tibetsi Mountains in northern Chad and the Chad-Niger-Libya border area, while the Gorane-Toubou mainly inhabit Chad’s Borkou region and the Ennedi Plateau, parts of eastern Niger, and northwest Sudan; there is also a significant Toubou (both Teda and Gorane) population in the oases of southern Libya, such as Kufrah. While the two major sub-branches are generally considered separate, the Toubou themselves do not consider the Teda-Gorane distinction as particularly salient, and generally refer to themselves as a unitary people called the “Teda-Daza”; the Tedaga and Dazaga languages are also closely related. The Toubou have historically made their living from transhumant (seasonal) pastoralism, but have also adopted some agricultural practices. The social structure of the Toubou is centered on a large number of clans (the Teda alone are divided between more than 40 clans), which on occasion are organized into larger “confederations”. The Toubou generally adhere to the Muslim faith.
Historically, the Toubou have been one of the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples to inhabit the Saharan and Sahel regions; linguistically, the Toubou belong to the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language group, alongside groups like the Zaghawa. While the Toubou are generally closely linked to the Tibetsi Mountains in Chad, many clans do not consider those mountains as their historical homeland. For example, several powerful Teda-Toubou clans trace their ancestry to Kanem-Bornu, a pre-Medieval and Medieval kingdom in present-day Chad. Other clans claim to hail from the oases of southern Libya, such as the ones in Kufrah and present-day Fezzan. Being inhabitants of the Sahel and Sahara regions, the Toubou were involved in the extensive caravan trade activities. The Toubou territories in Borkou and Tibetsi were among the last African territories to be colonized, and the French did not establish presence there until 1913-14. France did not impose particularly strong colonial administrations in the sparsely populated Toubou areas in present-day Chad, and allowed local chiefs to run most of the administration. Like many African groups, the Toubou found themselves divided by national borders following the decolonization of Libya, Chad, Sudan, and Niger; the more modern trajectories of the Toubou has been strongly influenced by this division.
In Libya, the Toubou have been subjected to systematic discrimination, even if the group fared relatively well in the first years after Libya’s independence in 1951; for example, the Libyan Army and Body Guard of King Idris included many Toubou. The Toubou’s situation deteriorated after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi took power in 1969. During Gaddafi’s rule (which lasted until 2011), the Toubou - who generally have a darker skin tone than the “Arab” Libyan majority population due to their Nilo-Saharan heritage - were subjected to significant racist prejudice. Gaddafi enforced polices aimed at “Arabizing” Libya, which reinforced the discrimination against the “non-Arab” Toubou. Consequently, the Gaddafi regime cultivated the idea that the Toubou were not Libyans, but residents of Chad and thus “illegal African immigrants”. This perception was aggravated by the fact that most Toubou born after 1951 lacked the documentation necessary to prove that their parents and grandparents had been living in Libya, a necessary prerequisite for Libyan citizenship under the Citizenship Law of 1954. Furthermore, the Toubou were not employed by the state or local administrations, and were barred from many higher educations. While many Toubou were incorporated into Gaddafi’s armed forces – some were also forcefully recruited – there were provisions in place to significantly limit the number of high-ranking officer of Toubou descent. The status of the Libyan Toubou was also weakened as a consequence of the Libya-Chad war, as the Toubou of Chad were involved in the fighting against Libyan forces from the mid-1980s and onward. In 2007, the Government of Libya revoked the Toubou population’s citizenship rights altogether. Following the ousting of Gaddafi in 2011, the Toubou became involved in localized conflicts with neighboring tribes (such as the Zuwaya, Awlad Suleiman, and Touareg) as the new Libyan governments failed to maintain order in most parts of the country.
In Chad, the political status of the Toubou has fluctuated. Following Chad’s independence from France in 1960, most political power was vested in the country’s “southern” population, which was “Europeanized” as a result of the colonial rule. Until 1975, the “northerners” of Chad – including the Toubou – were politically marginalized; this resulted in a protracted insurgency that began in the 1960s (for more on this conflict, see Chad: Government). The Toubou occupied a central role in the Chadian insurgency, and in 1979 the political power shifted in favor of Chad’s “northerners”. Furthermore, many key figures of the Chadian insurgency were Toubou, such as Goukouni Oueddei (leader of the rebel groups FAP and GUNT, served as President of Chad 1979-1982), Hissène Habré (leader of the rebel group FAN, served as President of Chad 1982-1990), Youssouf Togoimi (leader of MDJT), and Mahamat Nouri (multiple tenures as Chadian government minister, also led the UFDD). When Idriss Déby seized power in Chad in 1990, the Toubou again experienced a loss of influence and power, as Déby favored his native Zaghawa group.
In Niger, the Toubou constitute a small minority group, inhabiting the remote eastern areas of the country. Living conditions are harsh, and the Nigerien Toubou have been described as living “in the poorest and most underdeveloped region of one of the poorest countries on earth”. The situation deteriorated further in the early 1990s, following the influx of Toubou refugees fleeing from ongoing conflicts in Chad. Consequently, the economic and demographic stress in eastern Niger has led to confrontations between the Toubou and the Fulani and Tuareg groups over grazing rights. The Toubou in Sudan’s Darfur region have very close links to their kin in Chad, and members of the group move frequently across the Chad-Sudan border. It was not possible to find any information that indicated discriminatory policies being directed specifically towards the Toubou in Sudan.
As indicated above, the Toubou have connections to several formally organized groups. For example, among the plethora of non-state groups active in Chad, a few – such as MDJT and UFDD – have been described as representatives of the Toubou group’s interests. It should also be noted that many of the groups involved in the Chadian conflict over government have included considerable Toubou contingents, but without explicitly promoting the group’s particularistic interests. Nigerien Toubous created the FDR rebel group in the early 1990s, and also made up parts of MNJ, which was created in 2007. In Libya, Toubou fighters fought as part of the NTC against forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and in later stages of the Libyan conflict over government, the Toubou have also fought alongside the Forces of the House of Representatives. Non-state fighting between the Toubou and the Zuwaya and Touareg has also been seen as “proxy” conflicts related to the parallel state-based conflict in Libya.
