Foes Libya, Chad Seek Settlement of Border Dispute
Longtime enemies Col. Moammar Kadafi of Libya and President Hissen Habre of Chad met Friday to review a proposed settlement of a border dispute between the two nations.
They met in the capital of this West African country with other African leaders under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity.
An aide to one of the African leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposed pact would send the dispute over the Aouzou border region to the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations.
After a Libyan invasion, government troops and allied French soldiers drove out Libyan forces in 1987. France has about 1,500 soldiers in Chad to support Habre.
The Libyans, however, have kept their foothold in the Aouzou Strip, a 45,600-square-mile border area that has been disputed for decades.
Three other African presidents watched as Kadafi and Habre talked over the proposed agreement Friday in Bamako’s Friendship Hotel.
Mali television reported the two men “came out hand-in-hand, smiling and joyful.”
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