Libyans Reported Leaving Their Last Stronghold in Chad

Libyan military forces have begun to evacuate Faya-Largeau, their last major stronghold in Chad, without a fight after a humiliating defeat earlier this week at the hands of Chadian government troops, U.S. intelligence reports showed Wednesday.

A Reagan Administration official with access to such reports said that the Libyan troops are headed north toward the Libyan border. He said they probably will regroup in a strip of northern Chad that has long been claimed by Libya.

Libya’s evacuation of Faya-Largeau, the most important town in northern Chad, followed the Chadian army’s rout of Libyan forces at Ouadi Doum, a military base about 100 miles to the northeast. Once Ouadi Doum fell, Faya-Largeau apparently became untenable.

U.S. officials made no attempt to conceal their glee at the stinging defeat for Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. “You should never underestimate Libyan incompetence,” one official remarked.

However, Libya’s defeats in conventional warfare could goad Kadafi into renewed terrorist activity in an effort to divert attention from his humiliation. L. Paul Bremer, the State Department’s top anti-terrorism specialist, said last week that Libya has stepped up its planning in recent weeks for possible terrorist attacks.