Chadian coup of 1975 The Chadian coup of 1975 was in considerable part generated by the growing distrust of the President of Chad , François Tombalbaye , for the army . This distrust came in part from the Chadian Armed Forces ( FAT ) incapacity to deal with the rebellion that was inflaming the Muslim north from when the rebel insurgent group FROLINAT had been formed in 1966 . Arrests . Chad ' s former colonial power , France , had urged Tombalbaye to involve the military leadership in power , and the President did reserve a place in his party , the Chadian Progressive Party ( PPT ) , for the army commander ; but much more important and decisive in undermining his support among the military was , in 1973 , to be the arrest of the Army Chief of Staff , General Félix Malloum , for an alleged coup plot ( the so - called Black Sheep Plot ) . Also the Generals Jacques Doumro and Negue Djogo , and other officers , were arrested between 1971 and 1975 on similar charges , the latter on March 23 , 1975 . It was in this atmosphere of tension that Tombalbaye proceeded to yet another purge in the army , hitting this time the " gendarmerie " , the twelve hundred strong military police ; its head , Colonel Djimet , and his aide , Major Kotiga , were both arrested on April 2 , 1975 for the escape of some FROLINAT prisoners . This was to prove a fatal error . Army mutiny . The coup started before sunrise on April 13 when in Boraho , a locality 35 miles from the capital , army units led by Lieutenant Dimtolaum left their base and moved towards N ' Djamena , where they converged on the President ' s white - walled palace on the edge of the city . At 5 : 00 a furious and bloody battle started with Tombalbaye ' s presidential guard , the " Compagnies Tchadiennes de Securité " ( CTS ) . Decisive in deciding the outcome of the battle was the arrival of the interim commander of the FAT , Noël Milarew Odingar , who brought reinforcements and assumed command of the insurgents . Other sources name Colonel ( later General ) Kamougué as the leader of the coup . At 8 : 30 Colonel Selebiani , head of the CTS , issued an appeal on the radio for his men to surrender ; this put an end to all fighting . In the battle Tombalbaye had been fatally wounded , and died shortly after . When the news of Tombalbaye ' s death was given , there were mass celebrations in the capital , with thousands of Chadians pouring in the streets while dancing and joyfully chanting " Tombalbaye is dead " . Consequences . Already at 6 : 30 Odingar announced on the public radio that the armed forces had " exercised their responsibilities before God and the nation " . In a later communique the coupists were to justify their actions , accusing Tombalbaye of having governed by dividing the tribes , and of having humiliated the army and treated it with contempt . General Odingar acted provisionally as head of state and the jailed officers were immediately freed . Among these was General Félix Malloum , who was chosen to be chairman of a nine - man military junta , named the Supreme Military Council ( " Conseil Supérieur Militaire " or CSM ) , that took office on April 15 . It immediately arrested eight of Tombalbaye ' s top aides and suspended the 1962 constitution , while all parties were banned and the National Assembly was dissolved . The success of the coup did not produce a major break with Tombalbaye ' s policies . This was not surprising because , like Tombalbaye , both Odingar and Malloum were Sara from the south of Chad . While the CSM did make some moves to conciliate the north of the country , the Muslims continued to feel themselves second - class citizens and the FROLINAT rebellion continued .