Chadian–Libyan conflict | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
France Zaire United States Combat support: Egypt Sudan |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Muammar Gaddafi Massoud Abdelhafid Goukouni Oueddei |
François Tombalbaye Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981) Hissène Habré Hassan Djamous François Mitterrand (1981–1987) Idriss Déby Mobutu Sese Seko Ronald Reagan |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
7,500+ killed 1,000+ captured 800+ armored vehicles 28+ aircraft |
1,000+ killed | ||||||||
Chad received aid from France, Zaire, and the United States, while Libya was backed by the GUNT |
The Chadian–Libyan conflict was a series of sporadic clashes in Chad between 1978 and 1987 between Libyan and Chadian forces. Libya had been involved in Chad's internal affairs prior to 1978 and before Muammar Gaddafi's rise to power in Libya in 1969, beginning with the extension of the Chadian Civil War to northern Chad in 1968. The conflict was marked by a series of four separate Libyan interventions in Chad, taking place in 1978, 1979, 1980–1981 and 1983–1987. In all of these occasions Gaddafi had the support of a number of factions participating in the civil war, while Libya's opponents found the support of the French government, which intervened militarily to save the Chadian government in 1978, 1983 and 1986.