Publication

This publication examines the growing anger at the state among youth in Chad’s Sahel regions of Bahr el-Ghazal and Kanem. The text’s authors contend that impunity for abuses committed against locals and the authorities’ treatment of all young people leaving for Libya – many of whom simply seek economic opportunity – as potential rebels are fueling the discontent. This is a concern as these tensions risk aggravating the very thing the authorities fear: the reinforcement of rebels in neighboring countries. In response, the paper recommends that Chadian authorities should rebuild trust with youth by 1) avoiding the conflation of economic migrants with potential rebels; and 2) ending the impunity of individuals found guilty of abuses.