The Chadian Armed Forces (Forces Armées Tchadiennes or FAT) were the army of the central government of Chad from 1960 to 1979, under the southern presidents François Tombalbaye and Félix Malloum, until the downfall of the latter in 1979, when the head of the gendarmerie, Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, assumed command. Joined by gendarmerie units, FAT became a regional force representing primarily the Sara ethnic group of the five southern prefectures. It joined with the Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) forces fighting against Hissène Habré and was a recipient of aid from Libya. FAT began to disintegrate during 1982 as a result of defeats inflicted by Habré's Armed Forces of the North (FAN). Most remaining soldiers accepted integration into FAN or resumed their insurgency as codos.
