town located in eastern Chad, between the wadis Chao and Sao. Historically it was the site of the capital of the Muslim sultanate of Ouaddaï, which dominated much of the area of Chad before the French conquest in 1912. The remains of the ancient capital include a palace, tombs of former sultans, and the ruins of a mosque, all surrounded by a thick wall. The town has many mosques.

Abéché is surrounded by savanna-type terrain that is an important cattle-raising area, but the distance from suitable markets hinders development of the cattle industry. Abéché is linked by main road to the capital, N'Djamena (formerly Fort-Lamy), Sarh (formerly Fort-Archambault), and The Sudan. The Lycée Franco-Arabe (a secondary school) is in the town, which has an airport and a hospital and supports some light industry, including the manufacture of camel-hair blankets. Pop. (2000 est.) 63,165.