thumb|upright|The Aouzou strip shown in red - Transferred from Libya to Chad
The Aouzou Strip (; , ) is a strip of land in northern Chad that lies along the border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est, and Tibesti regions for an area of 114,000 km<sup>2</sup>. It is named after the small town and oasis of Aouzou. The strip was added to Italian Libya in 1935 for some years and played a significant role in the Chadian–Libyan War when it was claimed by Libya.
History
Inclusion in Italian Libya
thumb|300 px|Detailed 1935 map of the Aouzou Strip
The Aouzou strip was defined for the first time in the discussions between France and Italy after World War I, in relation to an award to Italy for the victory in that war. At the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), the Kingdom of Italy did not receive any of the German colonies, but instead was given the Oltre Giuba from the United Kingdom, and France agreed to give some Saharan territories to Italian Libya.
After many discussions during the 1920s, the Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935 was signed between Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval, which included a provision under which Italy would receive the Aouzou strip, which was to be added to Libya. France's other motivations in concluding this agreement with Italy were to settle the status of the Italian Tunisian community in its protectorate of the country, to remove irredentist Italian claims to Nice, and to prevent Italy from growing closer to Nazi Germany by keeping it closely aligned with France and the United Kingdom (the Stresa Front). the area became the cause of disputes and eventually war between Chad and Libya.
In April 1972, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi came to an agreement with Chadian president François Tombalbaye: Gaddafi would halt his support for FROLINAT rebels and grant a loan or payment to Chad. In exchange for this, Chad would break its ties to Israel and Tombalbaye would quietly accept Libya's claims to the Aouzou Strip. Hence, in 1973, Libya proceeded to occupy and annex the mineral-rich area without any Chadian resistance.
However, after Tombalbaye's downfall, the relations between Libya and Chad deteriorated and Libya again intensified its arming of rebel groups. The French authorities formally recognized the Aouzou Strip as Chadian territory upon the request of president Félix Malloum in August 1977, and Malloum broke diplomatic relations with Libya in February 1978.
Libya argued that the territory, as part of the Borderlands, was inhabited by indigenous people who owed vassalage to the Senoussi Order and subsequently to the Ottoman Empire, and that this title had been inherited by Libya. A cease-fire between Chad and Libya held from 1987 to 1988, followed by unsuccessful negotiations over the next several years.
In 1990, the territorial dispute was referred for adjudication to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Finally, a February 1994 ICJ decision found (by a majority of 16 to 1) in favour of Chad's sovereignty over the Borderlands and the Aouzou Strip, and ended the Libyan claim.