Background
In an accord made in Crete in September 1984 between the Libyan and French presidents Muammar al-Gaddafi and François Mitterrand it was agreed that the French and Libyan forces would both leave Chad, which was then divided on the 16th parallel with Libya and the rebel GUNT keeping the north and the French and the Chadian government holding the south. But while France respected the accords, leaving Chad in 1984, Libya only reduced its forces, maintaining 5,000 men in the country.
When on Gaddafi's orders GUNT forces attacked southern Chad in February 1986 violating the 16th parallel, French reaction was immediate: while on February 13 Opération Epervier started, which brought a thousand French troops in Chad, an air strike was prepared. The first move was to regroup in Bangui about fifteen Mirage F1 and Jaguar. The operation's target was to damage the airstrip of Ouadi Doum in northern Chad, a strip 3800 meters long, built by the Libyans between November 1984 and October 1985. Ouadi Doum had a great strategic importance, as only from there in Chad Libyan bombers could attack Chad's capital, N'Djamena.
More important still were the political aspects of the strike: Ouadi Doum was a symbol of Libyan duplicity. The French government intended by this action to send a message to their African allies, proving their determination to confront Libyan expansion.
Read more about this topic: Ouadi Doum Air Raid
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