After disagreements with Oueddei, Habré formed his own rebel group called Armed Forces of the North.

[2][3] In January 1979, Habré and Malloum disagreed over the interpretation of the reconciliation charter which started military hostilities in the city.

[1] The battle began on 12 February 1979, when FAN rebels and the Military of Chad engaged in open warfare in the city.

The Chadian military carried out massacres against the city's Muslim population, during which several thousand civilians were killed.

[1] FROLINAT rebels used the fighting in N'Djamena and breakdown of central government to launch a new offensive in the north.