Libya Bombs Materiel It Left in Chad
Libyan warplanes bombed Ouadi Doum today and destroyed some of the huge haul of arms and equipment abandoned at the desert military base in the Libyan rout March 22, Chadian staff officers said.
The officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Libyan Tupolev bombers based in the Khoufra oasis attacked throughout the day but kept at very high altitudes to avoid Chadian missiles.
One officer told reporters that daily raids have damaged at least half the 19 aircraft the Libyans left behind. He did not say how long the air strikes had been going on.
French Warning
In Paris, French Defense Minister Andre Giraud confirmed the continual heavy Libyan bombing of Ouadi Doum and warned that it could lead to an intervention of French forces north of the 16th Parallel.
The Libyans abandoned an estimated $500 million worth of weaponry and ammunition in fleeing their important Ouadi Doum military base, 620 miles northeast of N’Djamena, capital of Chad, and about 150 miles south of Libya.
The Libyans abandoned great amounts of Soviet-made tanks, rocket-launching systems, trucks, armored personnel carriers, four helicopters and 15 airplanes.
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