Transport in Chad the direction of Kousseri, Cameroon, near N'Djamena. Expansion of the road towards Cameroon through Pala and Léré is reportedly in the preparatory stages. Most rivers flow but intermittently. On the Chari, between N’Djamena and Lake Chad, transportation is possible all year round. In September and October, the Logone is navigable between N’Djamena and Moundou, and the Chari between N’Djamena and Sarh. Total waterways cover 4,800 km (3,000 mi), of which 2,000 km (1,250 mi) are navigable all year. Chari and Logone Rivers are navigable only in wet season (2002). Both flow northwards, from the south of Chad, into Lake Chad.
Niger far east as western Niger. The Kanem-Bornu Empire was an empire that existed in modern-day Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Libya. The empire first existed and prospered as the Kanem Empire as early as the 9th century and later as the Kingdom of Bornu until 1900. In the 19th century, contact with Europe began with the first European explorers—notably Monteil (French) and Barth (German)—to travel to Niger. Following the 1885 Berlin conference during which colonial powers outlined the division of Africa into colonial spheres, French military efforts to conquer existing African states were intensified in all French colonies including Niger.