The multiple experiences of civil war in the Guéra Region of Chad, 1965-1990

Most research on the recent political history of Chad has concentrated on events at the national level, but different parts of Chad were involved in the political conflict and ensuing civil war in very divergent ways. Little is known about the motivations and organization of the rebel groups on the ground, their relationship with the local population and how the latter were affected by these rebel groups and the clashes between the Chadian national army and opposition groups. The aim of this article is to show how a specific region, the Guera in central Chad, was involved in this national conflict. The different war stories of three villages in Mongo sous-prefecture show how different the war was at the local level.