Libya’s involvement in Chad can be dated back to the early 1970s, when Gaddafi had begun to support the FROLINAT, which were anti-government rebels. Libya occupied and annexed the Aouzou strip in 1975. This was an area of northern Chad that was adjacent to Libya’s southern border measuring 70,000 square kilometres . It is argued that Gaddafi’s motivation to move into norther Chad was due to personal and territorial ambitions, as well as tribal and ethnic affinities between the people of northern Chad and the people of southern Libya. However, other argue that the focal point of the occupation was the presence of uranium deposits required for the development of atomic energy.
Perhaps a more realistic argument for Gaddafi’s motivation to occupy northern Chad …show more content…
Libya sent its own aircraft to bomb all the abandoned equipment left at their bases so the Chadians could not use it. This left Habre in almost full control of Chad and put them in a position where they threatened the expulsion of Libyans from the Aouzou strip . It was clear that they had affected the perception of Libya a significant regional military power. This also casted doubt of the competence and determination of Libyan fighting men, especially with regards to their engagements beyond the country’s borders which they evidently felt no personal commitment .
In early 1987 the stalemate in Chad ended when the Habre forces had inflicted several military defeats on the Libyans as well as their Chadian allies in several key locations. The press speculated considerably on the repercussions of these humiliations Gaddafi’s regime faced. It was reported that Goukouni was held forcibly in Tripoli and was wounded by a Libyan soldier as a result. Gaddafi’s position was clearly weakened by these developments, and the fighting in Chad aroused discontent in the Libyan army as well
Perhaps a more realistic argument for Gaddafi’s motivation to occupy northern Chad …show more content…
Libya sent its own aircraft to bomb all the abandoned equipment left at their bases so the Chadians could not use it. This left Habre in almost full control of Chad and put them in a position where they threatened the expulsion of Libyans from the Aouzou strip . It was clear that they had affected the perception of Libya a significant regional military power. This also casted doubt of the competence and determination of Libyan fighting men, especially with regards to their engagements beyond the country’s borders which they evidently felt no personal commitment .
In early 1987 the stalemate in Chad ended when the Habre forces had inflicted several military defeats on the Libyans as well as their Chadian allies in several key locations. The press speculated considerably on the repercussions of these humiliations Gaddafi’s regime faced. It was reported that Goukouni was held forcibly in Tripoli and was wounded by a Libyan soldier as a result. Gaddafi’s position was clearly weakened by these developments, and the fighting in Chad aroused discontent in the Libyan army as well