Incident Summary:
04/13/2006: An unknown number of Chadian rebels from the United Front for Democratic Change attacked the town of N'djamena, Chad. The rebels were repelled after a three hour firefight with government troops. There were 350 casualties that included government troops, the rebels, and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Overview
GTD ID:
200604130001
When:
2006-04-13
Country:
Chad
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
N'Djamena
City:
N'djamena
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
government of Chad |
Specific Description |
N'djamena, capital of Chad |
Nationality of Target |
Chad |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Unknown |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Weapon Details |
Government troop used attack helicopters, tanks and artillery to repel the attack |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
At least 100 people, most of them civilians, were taken to N'Djamena's two main hospitals, while more than 150 wounded soldiers from the government army were taken to the military hospital. France sent 150 troops to Chad on April 12 to bolster a force of 1,200 already there, which would conduct air reconnaissance missions over the capital. --French officials said the rebels who broke into the capital yesterday appeared to be isolated units |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
271 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
Unknown |
Total Number of Fatalities |
Unknown |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
Unknown |
Total Number of Injured |
Unknown |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
“Chad regime under threat after rebel attack on capital: Guerrillas claim to control 80% of African country: New oil pipeline sweetens prize of toppling president,” The Guardian (London), April 14, 2006. |
“Chadian forces retake strategic town,” Financial Times (London), April 13, 2006. |
“Chad repels rebel attack, points finger at Sudan,” Agence France Presse -- English, April 13, 2006. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties