Omar al-Bashir seized control in Sudan in 1989; Idriss Déby entered N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, the following year, with Bashir's approval. The two men belonged to a new generation of ambitious African leaders whose fortunes prospered as the Cold War drew to a close. Déby was a secular head of state, eager for the US to befriend Chad; Bashir's regime was Islamist. Nonetheless, they remained close allies for ten years or more, until the Darfur rebellion in western Sudan put a serious strain on their relationship.

LRB 17 December 2009 | PDF Download