Word: chadness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...fighting in the embattled Central African nation of Chad was in stalemate, checked by the arrival of some 1,000 French paratroopers. Though the French soldiers were ostensibly in Chad as "instructors," the fact was that there were already half as many French troops in the country as there were soldiers in the Chadian army. The French buildup was a warning to Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose intervention in behalf of Rebel Leader Goukouni Oueddei had threatened to topple the government of President Hissene Habré. The message: Libya should not move its forces any farther south in the direction...
...Africa, there were some preliminary efforts to find diplomatic solutions to the Chadian impasse. Meeting in Brazzaville, capital of the Congo People's Republic, ten African heads of state called for a cease-fire in Chad. In N'Djamena, PresidentHabré did not rule out the possibility of holding talks with Gaddafi but said he would never negotiate with his archrival Goukouni, whom he described as a "Libyan mercenary." Gaddafi, in turn, held a press conference in Tunisia at which he brazenly denied that there were any Libyan troops in Chad...
...this new "line in the sand" is that it is situated at the limit of the Libyans' air range. As a further indication of its determination, France appointed Brigadier General Jean Poli, 54, a career paratrooper with combat experience in Africa, to assume command of its forces in Chad...
...Libyan lobby,"Habré said after the meeting that his relations with France were "clear and unambiguous."Habré, 41, a wiry man with fierce brown eyes, reserved his harshest words for Gaddafi, who in 1973 seized and annexed a 44,000-sq.-mi. stretch of northern Chad known as the Aozou Strip. SaidHabré: "Libya now occupies half of Chad. Gaddafi wants to annex Chad, and that is that...
...Libyans and the rebels push southward, as they appear ready to do, and if the French avoid direct involvement in the conflict, Habré's government will surely fall. On the other hand, if Gaddafi should decide to keep his troops in northern Chad, the country could face de facto partition. That might be a relatively painless solution to the present crisis, but it would set a dangerous precedent for an unstable continent where the rule has long been to honor the boundaries inherited from colonial times. -By William E. Smith. Reported by John Borrell/N'Djamena and Thomas...