Chad Down and Out

The attack proved swift, brutal and decisive. In just two hours, Chadian soldiers routed Libyan troops from an airfield that had served as Libya's main support base in northern Chad since 1984, the year after Libya invaded its neighbor in force. The exuberant Chadians claimed they had killed 1,269 enemy troops and taken 438 prisoners while losing just 29 soldiers. Chadian officials also said that in the hasty retreat last week from the air base at Ouadi-Doum, the Libyans left behind a trove of Soviet-made equipment, including combat aircraft, tanks and rocket launchers. The defeat, stated a Chadian military communique, enabled...