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@Chad
Introduction Chad
Background:
Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three
decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a
semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government
eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military
groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable
to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty
presidential elections in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, a new rebellion
broke out in northern Chad, which sporadically flares up despite two
peace agreements signed in 2002 and 2003 between the government and
the rebels. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains
in the hands of an ethnic minority.
Geography Chad
Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km
water: 24,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of California