The Lion King | 17
Country Focus
In June 2005, President Idriss Deby held
a referendum which removed consti-
tutional term limits opening the way
for him to win another election in 2006.
Sporadic rebel campaigns continued
throughout 2006 and 2007.
The capital, N’djamena experienced
significant insurrection in early 2008,
but has had no significant rebel threats
since then, in part due to Chad's 2010
rapprochement with Sudan. President
Deby, in 2011, was re-elected to his
fourth term in an election that interna-
tional observers described as proceed-
ing without incident.
Geography
Located in Central Africa, south of
Libya, Chad is a landlocked country,
bordered by Sudan, the Central African
Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger,
and Libya. It has an area of 495,752
square miles (1,284,000 square kilo-
metres), most of it desert, semi-desert,
or savannah.
In the extreme south, there are lush for-
ests and agricultural areas. The country
is divided into three climatic-ecological
zones from north to south: the Saharan
zone (dry and hot, with livestock raising,
minor cultivation, and some trade), the
Sahelian zone (more rainfall, livestock
raising, and cereal cultivation), and the
Southern semitropical zone (with good
rainfall of up to 48 inches; 1,200 millime-
tres per year, large-scale cultivation,
cash-crop production, trade, and
crafts).
The country is drought-prone and suffers
from periodic famine. Chad is basically
a large plain, with some mountain rang-
es, including the Guéra massif in the
centre and the Ouaddaï or Ennedi mas-
sif in the East; in the North in the middle
of the desert lies the spectacular Tibesti
range, where cultivation is possible due
to higher rainfall. In the Southwest, on
the border with Cameroon, Niger, and
Nigeria, is Lake Chad, a shrinking water
mass lying at an altitude of about 790
feet (240 meters).
The two main rivers — the Logon and
the Chari — are in the Southwest of
Chad and run into Lake Chad. They are
navigable for most of the year and are
also used extensively for fishing.
The main Natural resources of Chad
include; petroleum, uranium, natron,
kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, lime-
stone, sand, gravel and salt.
Ennedi Desert
The Ennedi Desert was once
underwater, so it has many rock
formations and sea arches. It is
located in the Sahara desert in
North-eastern Chad. The desert
contains prehistoric cave paintings
from the past. It also has small,
hidden, blue-green desert lakes
and slot canyons to explore.
Photo: Franck Zecchin/flickr
