It was founded in 2001 by Adoum Yacoub ‘Kougou’, a veteran of Chadian armed opposition groups. The group begun fighting in Darfur area along Sudanese Liberation Movement during the Darfur war. For most of its existence it operated in southeastern Chad. It is mostly composed of Ouaddaïan but it also has Masalit and Tama combatants. Its fighters are considered to have significant military experience.