MOLL-TADJADDINE SQUARE OR INDEPENDENCE SQUARE

This square is infamous for having been the scene of one of the most tragic events in the town's history: the Coupe-Coupe affair. On October 23, 1917, during a popular dance organized on the square, a certain Moursal killed Marshal Guyader and wounded Sergeant Malfait. The culprit was immediately hanged, but the investigation launched by Commandant Gérard, the town's military governor, revealed that theaguid (notable) Al-Mayaguiné, Moursal's master, may have ordered the murder (historical sources now invalidate this theory). To exonerate himself, he gave a list of all the fakis (Muslim scholars) involved in an alleged plot against the French. On the morning of November 15, Gérard ordered the riflemen to assassinate the aguid (military chief) of Dokom and his men - fifty-six people were killed - and more than twenty fakis. Over the next three months, other dignitaries were hunted down and beheaded with cleavers, provoking indignation among the population, who sided with their elites in a climate of hatred towards the French. For these horrific acts of violence, Commandant Gérard was simply forced into early retirement. A total of 115 people were killed during this period... These tragic events prompted intellectuals from the Ouaddaï to emigrate to Egypt and Sudan, and hostility towards the French took root.