Chad, Libya Accept Truce Under OAU Sponsorship
Chad and Libya said today they had accepted a cease-fire in their war over a desert border area.
The truce, sponsored by the Organization of African Unity, was to begin today. The Chad government said in a statement it accepted the cease-fire, and Libyan radio, monitored in Nicosia, Cyprus, said Tripoli would also observe it.
The radio said Libya hoped the truce would “put an end to Chadian suffering and would help in finding a solution (o the conflict)under the aegis of the OAU.”
Libya’s official news agency JANA reported that Tripoli would stop air raids against Chad at noon to coincide with the Muslim call to Friday prayer.
But Chad said the cease-fire did not necessarily indicate a settlement in the conflict over the disputed 43,000-square-mile Aouzou region, which is believed to be rich in minerals.
It called on Chadians to remain vigilant and mobilized during the cease-fire and urged an immediate meeting of the OAU committee charged with mediating an end to the dispute.
Libya annexed the Aouzou region in 1973 under a never ratified pre-World War II treaty between France and Italy.
On Thursday, Libyan warplanes bombed the town of Fada, the base of Ouadi Doum and the oasis of Faya-Largeau in northern Chad. The Chadian Embassy in Paris said more than a dozen people were killed in the attack on Faya-Largeau.
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