Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic

The Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (Conseil de commandement militaire pour le salut de la République; abbreviated CCMSR) is a Chadian militant rebel group that seeks to overthrow the government of Chad. Founded in 2016, it currently operates in the border regions of northern Chad, southern Libya, eastern Niger, and western Sudan. The CCMSR has become involved in the Second Libyan Civil War, and took control of the Kouri Bougoudi area in northern Chad in 2018. After taking power in 1990, Chadian President Idriss Déby has been challenged by numerous armed Chadian opposition groups. Although numerous and relatively powerful, the rebel factions were never able to fully unite to topple Déby who was thus able to crush them repeatedly in course of several civil wars and insurgencies. Over time, the military of Chad grew increasingly powerful, while the Chadian rebels lost their backers and sources of funding. As result, most of them relocated from Chad to Libya and Sudan in 2009, where they worked as mercenaries to remain active and make a living. About 11,000 Chadian mercenaries operated in Libya by August 2017, fighting for numerous Libyan parties such as the Presidential Council/Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Khalifa Haftar-loyal Libyan National Army (LNA). Several Chadian dissident groups unified under the leadership of long-time insurgent commander Mahamat Mahdi Ali in March 2016, forming the "Front for Change and Concord in Chad" (FACT) and allying themselves with pro-GNA forces in Libya. FACT's unity collapsed almost immediately, however, as violent disputes erupted and part of the group split off in March. This splinter faction consisted of Kreda clansmen and adopted the name "Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic" (CCMSR), electing former UFDD spokesman Mahamat Hassani Bulmay its secretary-general. Becoming active in the border regions of northern Chad, southern Libya, eastern Niger, and western Sudan, CCMSR allied itself with the pro-GNA Benghazi Defense Brigades, and started to build up its strength in Libya for a rebellion against the Chadian government.