Chad–Libya border

[3] The Ottoman Empire had ruled the coastal areas of what is today Libya since the 16th century, organised into the Vilayet of Tripolitania, with an ill-defined border in the south.

[4] The process culminated in the Berlin Conference of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements.

As a result of this, France gained control of the upper valley of the Niger River (roughly equivalent to the areas of modern Mali and Niger), and also the lands explored by Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza for France in Central Africa (roughly equivalent to modern Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville).

[4] From these bases the French explored further into the interior, eventually linking the two areas following expeditions in April 1900 which met at Kousséri in the far north of modern Cameroon.

[2] In 1969 Muammar Gaddafi seized power in Libya and reignited the Libyan claim to the Aouzou Strip, bolstered by the possibility that the area could be rich in uranium.

[13] In March 2019 Chadian President Idriss Déby announced that the border would close, citing the crossing of the frontier by Libyan-based anti-government rebel groups into Chadian territory (most notably the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic; French: Conseil de commandement militaire pour le salut de la République, abbreviated CCMSR) and the continuing instability caused by the civil war in Libya.

[14] As part of Operation Barkhane France has provided assistance to the Chadian Army with guarding the border, including launching air strikes against anti-government rebels.