Word: libyans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Only a week earlier the Libyans had managed to reverse a string of Chadian victories by retaking a key oasis town near the border. Angered by the setback at Maaten es Sarra, Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi last week ordered a retaliatory air strike on N'Djamena. But as two Soviet-built Tupolev-22 bombers approached the capital, French troops fired a U.S.-made Hawk antiaircraft missile. One of the jets exploded in a green phosphorescent fireball, and the other fled toward Libya. Two other Tupolevs later struck the town of Abeche, some 400 miles to the east, killing two civilians...
...downing over N'Djamena provoked a shrill outcry in Tripoli. The Libyan news agency JANA called the raid a "combined Franco-American military action" and charged that Washington and Paris were "behind the aggression against Libya." In Paris, Libyan diplomats accused France of bearing "direct responsibility" for the escalation of the war. Libyan Ambassador Hamed el Houderi warned that "those who put oil on the fire risked getting burned...
...failed air raid marked a turning point in France's role in the conflict, which has raged over Libyan claims to the reputedly uranium-rich Aozou Strip in northern Chad. While France maintains a 1,300-troop garrison in Chad and has provided some $90 million in military aid this year to its former colony, the French have resisted being drawn deeper into the conflict. Defense Minister Andre Giraud expressed "deepest regrets" over the stepped-up fighting, though he declared that France will continue to defend the Chadian capital from attack. Premier Jacques Chirac last week repeated calls...
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi suffered the worst defeat of his 18-year rule of Libya five months ago when his troops were driven out of northern Chad. Last week Chadian President Hissene Habre sought to double the Libyans' humiliation by sending his army to capture the Aouzou Strip, a disputed border region. Though the foray did not produce the "total defeat" of Libyan forces claimed by Chad, it resulted in the fall of the town of Aouzou, the strip's administrative center...
...widespread practice of granting sources anonymity has dangers of its own. It allows officials to manipulate the press without being held accountable. North's charge that Congress was responsible for leaks about the Libyan raid and the Achille Lauro had serious policy implications. It was also wrong; most stories about both events, including TIME's cover just before the Libyan raid, were based on Administration sources. Says Michael Gartner, editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "In this instance, where the source publicly accuses someone else of leaking a story for devious purposes, it's incumbent upon...