SUMMARY
Military faction (forces of Maldoum Bada Abbas) was and armed group active in the [Chadian intrastate armed conflict over government. Since it gained independence from France in 1960, Chad has been hard-hit by armed conflict. The country has been characterized by an immense ethnic diversity, and these divisions have been exacerbated by a tradition of factionalism. Historically, there has been animosity between the mainly Muslim north and the more Christian and animist south. Another prominent feature of the Chadian conflicts has been a strong regional dimension, as particularly Libya and Sudan have had strong influence on Chad’s conflict dynamics. Following almost 25 years of civil strife involving a plethora of rebel groups, Idriss Déby and his MPS ousted President Hissène Habré in December 1990, and was able to solidify his hold on power, despite continued challenges from several armed groups. It was in this context that Military faction (forces of Maldoum Bada Abbas) emerged.
In October 1991, forces loyal to the Chadian Minister of Interior and Security, Maldoum Bada Abbas, clashed with Chadian government troops during an attempted coup in the capital N’Djamena. Allegedly, the coup was a result of ethnic factionalism and the perceived predominance of President Déby’s Zaghawa ethnic group in Chadian politics and society; Abbas, and likely most of his followers, hailed from the Hadjerai ethnic group. The Hadjerai had suffered from loss of power and repression during the rule of Hissène Habré, and had therefore helped Déby to take power in 1990; the Hadjerai-based MOSANAT rebel organization – which was led by Abbas - had been one of the primary founding groups of the MPSS. As MPS was transformed into a political party, Abbas became its Vice President. Unconfirmed sources also claimed that the coup may have been motivated by demands on Abbas to leave this position, if he were to keep the post as Minister of the Interior and Security; this was allegedly an attempt to limit Hadjerai influence. In general, few details were known about Abbas and his faction at the time of the coup.
It was not possible to establish the numerical strength of Abbas’ faction, but contemporary reports stated that “hundreds” of Hadjerai fighters were arrested in N’Djamena in the aftermath of the coup. It should however be noted that it was not disclosed whether the arrested Hadjerai had been directly involved in the fighting. Furthermore, no information regarding secondary support was found.
Following the failed uprising in N’Djamena, Abbas and many of his followers were arrested, and later died under unclear circumstances.
