Aouzou Strip

The Aouzou Strip (/ˈaʊzuː/; Arabic: قطاع أوزو, romanized: Qiṭāʿ Awzū, French: Bande d'Aozou) is a strip of land in northern Chad that lies along the border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est, and Tibesti regions for an area of 114,000 km2.

After many discussions during the 1920s, in 1935 the Franco-Italian Agreement was signed between Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval, which included a provision under which Italy would receive the Aouzou strip, which was to be added to Libya.

[1] This policy failed two years later when Italy drifted into the German orbit by concluding the Pact of Steel with Nazi Germany, leading to the "instruments of ratification" of the Mussolini-Laval Treaty never being exchanged with France.

In 1973, Libya engaged in military operations in the Aouzou Strip to gain access to minerals and to use it as a base of influence in Chadian politics.

Finally, a February 1994 ICJ decision found (by a majority of 16 to 1) in favour of Chad's sovereignty over the Borderlands and the Aouzou Strip, and ended the Libyan claim.