Zaghawa Ethnic Tension
During the Sahelian drought of the 1980s, the Zaghawa migrated to Dar Tama and displaced some of the Tama.
At the time of the Chadian civil war the rebel group United Front for Democratic Change (FUC) largely consisted of Tama. The Zaghawa felt the Tama supported this rebel group that opposed the Chadian government, which was led by President Idriss Déby, a member of the Zaghawa tribe, though there was little activity of any rebel group on the community level.
A 2006 robbery of a Tama man and an ensuing gunfight that caused 20 deaths and 9 serious injuries was cited as the event that triggered increased violence. After that, the Zaghawa increased the frequency and violence of their theft of Tama cattle. In 2006, dozens of Tama were killed by Zaghawa militants and thousands of Tama were displaced after Zaghawa attacks on Tama villages. In August 2006, 3,300 Tama civilians fled from Dar Tama to Sudan because some Zaghawa accused a Tama man of raping one of their women. In October, 1,800 refugees fled to Mile and Kounoungo, UN-sponsored refugee camps. Human Rights Watch could not corroborate allegations of Tama attacks on Zaghawa civilians. The Chadian government and police did little to investigate or condemn the increasing violence.
Read more about this topic: Tama People
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