Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad

rdf:langString Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad

rdf:langString Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (French: Mouvement pour la democratie et la justice au Tchad, abbreviated as MDJT) is a Chadian rebel group that tried to oust the government of the current Chadian president Idriss Déby from October 1998–2003. The movement was founded by Youssouf Togoïmi, Déby's former Defense Minister, and operated primarily in Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti and the Tibesti Mountains. Though MDJT fought mostly against the Chadian Military, they were accused of assassinating the President of an opposition party in 1999, but no evidence supports this claim. MDJT began negotiating with the Chadian government in January 2002 and signed a treaty giving amnesty to all MDJT rebels who stopped fighting. A MDJT remnant continued to fight to on a smaller scale until another agreement was signed in December 2003. This accord ensured high-ranking government positions for MDJT members. Togoïmi died in September 2002 in a Libyan hospital from injuries he had received a few days earlier when his truck hit a landmine. Togoïmi is buried in Libya. The movement was similar in where it got its members, the Chadian military, and goals, overthrow of President Déby, to the later Platform for Change, Unity and Democracy.