Chronology

August 1960: Chad gains independence from France, Francois Tombalbaye, leader of the Chad Progressive Party (PPT) becomes president. He bans all opposition parties before the first constitution is put in place in 1962. 1965: Full-scale rebellion breaks out between northern Muslims and mostly animist southern tribes. France intervenes in 1968. 1973: Libya annexes the Aozou strip. April 1975:Tombalbaye is killed in a military coup. Gen. Felix Malloum becomes president at the head of the Supreme Military Council. Libya offers secret support to the banned opposition Chad National Liberation Front (FROLINAT). August 1978: FROLINAT's former leader, Hiss`ene Habr'e, becomes prime minister. February 1979: Government troops loyal to Malloum and rebel forces loyal to Habr'e clash. Malloum resigns in March and a coalition provisional government is formed in April. August 1979: Eleven Chadian factions agree to form a new government. Goukouni Woddei becomes president. Habr'e becomes defense minister. March 1980: Disagreements between Woddei and Habr'e lead to open war in N'Djamena, the capital. French troops withdraw in May. Woddei signs a pact with Libya in June. Libyan intervention in October forces Habr'e into exile. 1982: Habr'e captures N'Djamena in June. A new constitution is drafted in September, and Habr'e becomes president in October. Meanwhile Woddei, with Libyan military support, captures parts of northern Chad. 1883: Habr'e government gains international recognition, and France sends troops to mitigate the northern dispute. The Aozou conflict continues intermittently throughout the decade. March 1990: Col. Idriss Deby invades Chad from Sudan and steadily advances toward N'Djamena through summer and fall. August 1990: Libya and Chad refer Aozou dispute to the International Court of Justice. December 1990: Deby overthrows Habr'e. May 1991: Deby promises a multiparty system by 1992. October 1991: First coup attempt to overthrow Deby. December 1991: Forces loyal to Habr'e attack towns in Lake Chad region. February 1992: Second coup attempt against Deby. June 18, 1992: Third coup attempt led by the minister of public works, Col. Abbas Koti.