BILMA or KAWAR, a Saharan oasis, 6o m. by 1 o. The in habitants are Tibbu and Kanuri. The name Bilma belongs strictly to the south part near the chief settlement, Bilma or Garu. This place is Boo m. S. of the town of Tripoli and about 3 5o N. of the north-west corner of Lake Chad. The water of a number of lakes on evaporation yields large quantities of fine salt, the object of an extensive trade with Central Africa. North of Bilma is the town of Dirki, said to date from the I I th century. Near Bilma is a small oasis, kept green by spring water, but to the south marked desert conditions prevail. By the Anglo-French Declaration of 1899 Bilma was included in the French sphere of influence in West Africa. Turkey claimed the oasis and garri soned Bilma in 1902. In 1906, however, a French force occupied the town without opposition. In 1907 the district was created a circle of the French Territory of the Niger (see SAHARA).