While the Italians occupied the Fezzan, a French column entered the Tibesti in early 1914 from Kaouar, flouting an agreement with the Maï from the previous winter and forcing the Derdé Chachaï into exile. The region was at the heart of the dispute between the colonial powers, with the Italian Empire to the north and French West Africa to the south. During World War I, a Senussi revolt forced the Italians to temporarily withdraw from the Fezzan and the northeastern part of the range. Maï Getty Tchénimémi allied with the supporters of the Derdé and led the resistance against the French troops until their withdrawal in 1916. The Tibesti was reconquered by the French colonial empire in 1929, and the region was placed under the administration of French Equatorial Africa.