 The February 2008 attempted coup in N’Djamena was a revealing and important moment in Chad’s history. Although the government stood strong, the effects of war on the city have left a mark. Resulting population displacements and government policy changes have also confirmed that Chad is a changed nation after the 2008 rebellion.
Below is a day-by-day quote timeline of the attempted coup. Quotes were taken from internet articles, and each quote reflects new information. Although the effects of the coup lasted longer - admittedly, they still linger and will for some time - this timeline covers a 15-day period.
February 1
United Press International (see full article)
“Also on the CrisisWatch list is Chad where 300 rebel vehicles made threatening advances towards the capital of N'Djamena…”
AP
“The rebels, numbering 1,500 to 2,000 with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, moved toward the Chadian capital…Government troops blocked them at the capital's eastern and northern entrances Thursday night, France-Info radio reported. Fighting broke out Friday morning in Massaguet, some 30 miles northeast of the capital”
AFP (see full article)
“Chad's military general staff said in a statement the army had engaged a large group of rebels at Massaguet about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the capital and ‘entirely destroyed this column after 40 minutes of fighting’…Rebel leader Timan Erdimi insisted his side had won the day and vowed the next clash would be in Ndjamena itself…’We completely smashed them, but Deby was able to escape. Now we are between Massaguet and Ndjamena. We are coming to Ndjamena.’…The capital itself was practically deserted Friday afternoon, with a large military presence on the streets and helicopters flying overhead. The area around the president's office was sealed off and protected by tanks.”
MaximsNews Network (see full article)
“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned at the resumption of fighting in Chad.”
CNN.com (see full article)
“The French Defense Ministry said Friday it is dispatching 140 soldiers from Gabon to Chad's capital of N'Djamena as a precaution to protect French citizens after renewed fighting between government troops and rebels.”
February 2
The New York Times (see full article)
“A column of 300 rebel vehicles has descended on Ndjamena from the northeast. The rebels claimed on a Web site to have the capital surrounded and to have destroyed two government attack helicopters, but it was impossible to independently verify these claims.”
Bloomberg (see full article)
“France said it is preparing to evacuate foreigners from the capital of Chad”
International Herald Tribune (see full article)
“Many Chadian government soldiers are defecting to rebels…Nobody knows whether President Idriss Deby is in his presidential palace.”
February 3
The New York Times (see full article)
“A spokesman for the three rebel groups, Abdraman Koulamallah, said in a statement posted on a rebel Web site that they were in the capital and were “ready to facilitate, with the guarantee of the African Union, the negotiated departure of President Idriss Déby and avoid a pointless blood bath…’At the present time, the French military forces are not involved in the fighting’… the defense minister, Hervé Morin, said France would remain neutral in the conflict.”
February 4
The Washington Post (see full article)
“Though scattered fighting continued Monday, rebel forces broke off their attack on the palace of President Idriss Déby and retreated to positions east of N'Djamena as civilians fled westward, across a bridge into neighboring Cameroon. Humanitarian groups began moving workers and resources toward the border to help the fleeing civilians.”
NPR (see full story)
“Rebels in the central African nation of Chad lurk outside the capital after two days of fighting with government forces. The rebels, who streamed in from Sudan, say they plan a new offensive after allowing civilians to depart the capital.”
February 5
BBC News (see full story)
“Up to 20,000 people had crossed the river border since Saturday… The rebels have now retreated from N'Djamena, and France has threatened to step in if they launch another assault… The tripartite alliance of rebels, meanwhile, has offered a ceasefire, news agencies reported, but it was unclear on what terms.”
Voice of America (see full story)
“Chad's Prime Minister Nourredine Kassire Coumakoye said on French television there is no reason to have a cease-fire with what he called dead people. He said those rebels who were not dead, are fleeing. Residents who remained in N'Djamena said there are dozens of dead bodies lying on the streets.”
February 6
The New York Times (see full article)
“A commander from the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel group that has been fighting Sudan’s government and its allied militias in the war-ravaged region for the past five years, said some of the rebel troops had left their base in eastern Chad, along the border with Sudan, to reinforce Chadian government troops… Despite what was apparently the retreat of the rebels, the situation remained tense. Government television and radio remained off the air, and cellphone networks that were taken down to hamper rebel communication were still off Tuesday. At least four leading opposition figures have been arrested in the past few days…”
International Herald Tribune (see full article)
“The United Nations has evacuated most of its staff from Chad because of worries for their safety.”
February 7
Washington Post, on Boston.com(see full article)
“Life eased toward normality yesterday in Chad's capital of N'Djamena as a few shops reopened and people ventured out of their homes on the quietest day since rebels attacked last week… With the rebels in retreat, President Idriss Deby, a former fighter pilot dressed triumphantly in military garb, summoned reporters to his presidential palace, spread his arms wide, and declared, ‘Look at me, I'm fine’… the International Committee of the Red Cross predicted that the [death] toll would reach at least 200, with more than 1,000 injured.”
AP
“The U.N. estimated that at least 30,000 people have fled the oil-rich country for Cameroon after fighting broke out over the weekend in N'Djamena… Chadians were still leaving their homeland, although the flow was decreasing to a trickle… Chadian Prime Minister Nouradin Koumakoye on Thursday declared a curfew in the capital and other regions of the country, effective immediately, to help restore order… ‘I don't think that people dare go home now," Wanda said. "How will people take care of their kids? The markets are burned. The pharmacies have been pillaged. There's no jobs and no money. There's no home to return to.’”
February 9
Reuters (see full article)
“Chad's rebels said on Saturday they controlled the centre of the landlocked country and would hold their position in an effort to lure government troops from the capital into an open battle in the desert… President Idriss Deby's government says it routed the rebel column which entered N'Djamena last week using tanks and helicopters in two days of confused street fighting… After initially remaining neutral over the weekend, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has thrown his full backing behind Deby this week, tabling a non-binding U.N. Security-Council statement urging member states to support Chad's government.”
February 10
AP, on IHT.com (see full article)
“The situation across the border, however, was worse. Cameroon is host to more than 30,000 Chadians who had fled across the Chari River to the Cameroonian town of Kousseri. Deby said his government is in control of the country and has called on the refugees to return… The Red Cross estimates that hundreds of people ran to villages south of N'Djamena to flee the fighting, but many are returning home.”
AP
“On Friday, Sudanese helicopter gunships and fixed-wing aircraft bombed the towns of Sirba, Sileia and Abu Suruj while striking at rebel forces, which have been trying to consolidate their positions in West Darfur… The Sudanese army said its attacks forced rebels to retreat into neighboring Chad, a provocative accusation at a time of escalating tension between the two countries.”
February 11
AFP
“Ndjamena airport reopened Monday, paving the way for the arrival of some 3,700 European peacekeepers… An Air France flight from Paris is due to land at Ndjamena on Tuesday morning, an airport official said, and the carrier is expected to immediately relaunch four of its seven weekly flights…The rebels, meanwhile, who failed in their bid to topple President Idriss Deby Itno were steadily retreating southeast after leaving their fallback position of Mongo in central Chad at the weekend… The Chadian army, also equipped with the pick-up trucks best suited to the rugged semi-desert territory, was on the move about 100 kilometres (60 miles) behind the rebels.”
February 12
AFP (see full artcile)
“’It was such a panic, getting back to normal is very tough,’ Lol Ali Choua, the headmaster of one school, told AFP. His Lycee de la Liberte reopened on Tuesday, but he said only about 300 of the 2,000 pupils had shown up. ‘Twenty teachers out of 40 reported in.’ On General de Gaulle street, a main business avenue, the Financial Bank was open and more staff had turned up, but a rocket had blown a hole in the façade.”
February 13
Reuters (see full article)
“Chad's government on Wednesday displayed more than 100 prisoners it said were captured during a rebel assault on the capital this month, branding them Sudanese mercenaries, Islamic militants and members of al Qaeda. The prisoners, many of them children, were packed into a tiny courtyard of N'Djamena's police headquarters…”
February 14
Christian Science Monitor (see full article)
“At the peak of the exodus from N'Djamena last week, more than 30,000 Chadian refugees were officially registered in neighboring Cameroon, though more were absorbed by the local community, making accurate head counts difficult. The UN estimates that 20,000 refugees will remain in Cameroon in the medium term, needing food, water, and other basics.”
February 15
Voice of America (see full article)
“The U.N. refugee agency estimates around 9,000 newly arrived refugees are scattered along the border between Chad and Sudan. And, there are reports that more refugees are trickling in…U.N. refugee spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says efforts to move the refugees away from the volatile border to safer campsites inland were blocked by the presence of armed men.”
AFP (see full article)
“Chad was placed under a state of emergency Friday, while rebels said they needed to pick a single leader to oust President Idriss Deby Itno after a foiled offensive. Under presidential decree, a midnight to 6:00 am curfew already in place in Ndjamena since the rebels stormed the capital at the start of the month was widened to the whole central African country. The decree authorised ‘house searches and controls on the private and public press.’ Chad's media has already seen a crackdown which, along with the rounding up of key opposition figures, has drawn strong condemnation from international right groups.”
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