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Opération Épervier ((:ɔpeʁasjɔ̃ epɛʁvje); (英語:Operation Sparrowhawk)) was the codename, from 1986 until 2014, for the ongoing French military presence in Chad. ==Containing Libya== (詳細はN'Djamena between the Chadian President Hissène Habré and the French Defence Minister Paul Quilès. Its goal was to contain the Libyan invasion that had brought the loss of all Chadian territory north of the 16th parallel and was threatening the capital; a new offensive had been started on 10 February by Muammar Gaddafi in the belief that there would be no French reaction. The French Air Force was the first to strike: on 16 February an air raid on Ouadi Doum badly damaged the Ouadi Doum airbase, a strategic air base in Chad from which Libyan planes could attack N'Djamena and hamper the deployment of the troops. On 17 February 1986, in retaliation for the Ouadi Doum air raid, a LARAF Tu-22B attacked the airport at N'Djamena. The bomber ran into technical problems on its return journey. U.S. reconnaissance planes based in Sudan monitored distress calls sent by the pilot of the Tu-22 that probably crashed before reaching its base at Aouzou (maybe hit by twin-tubes that fired in N'Djamena airport).〔''The Ottawa Citizen'', (Page A7 ), 18 February 1986〕 On 18 February, 200 French Commandos took possession of Camp Dubut, near N'Djamena, which had already been France's headquarters during Opération Manta (1983–1984). The Commandos secured the camp for the mission's air force, that arrived the night of the 18th and was composed of six Mirage F1 and four Jaguar fighter-bombers and a battery of low altitude (anti aircraft) Crotale missiles. To defend the capital and the camp against high altitude air attacks a battery of French Army Air Defense MIM-23 Hawk missiles arrived on 3 March, and shortly afterwards a radar was stationed at Moussoro, defended by 150 French troops. This brought the total number of troops in the country to 900. For months the troops remained largely inactive, and the air force limited itself to reconnaissance missions for the Chadian army, remaining careful not to cross the 16th parallel. But when in October the leader of the GUNT Goukouni Oueddei rebelled against Gaddafi, and vicious fighting erupted in the Tibesti between his People's Armed Forces militia (1,500 to 2,000 men) and the Libyan army, who had 8,000 men in Chad, the situation changed. Overwhelmed by superior forces, Goukouni's forces were in great difficulty; this led France to plan a mission to help the Tibesti rebels. In the night of 16/17 September, two Transall transport aircraft parachuted 6,000 litres of gasoline, munitions, provisions and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles into the Tibesti. It was also reported by ''Le Monde'' that a small number of French soldiers had secretly entered the Tibesti to support Goukouni's men. On 2 January 1987 Habré's troops invaded the capital of the Ennedi, Fada; the battle was a triumph for the Chadians, while 781 Libyans remained on the ground. A decisive role was played by French supplies, especially the anti-tank MILAN missiles. Gaddafi answered by violating the red line of the 16th parallel; Libyan planes bombed Arada, 110 km south of the line, and Oum-Chalouba, close to a new French base established at Kalaït, exactly on the 16th parallel, manned by 250 troops. France's reaction was to bomb again on 7 January the airbase of Ouadi Doum: the fourteen aircraft employed in the operation destroyed the Libyan radar station, but limited themselves to this. In what appears to have been an escalation, Libyan forces raided the French-Chadian base of Kalaïton on 11 January; it was the first direct attack on the French contingent, which suffered no losses. Additionally, Gaddafi prepared a vast offensive: he added 4,000-6,000 troops to the 8,000 men stationed in the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti. In the meantime, the French also strengthened their forces; in February Opération Épervier reached 2,200 men and established two new bases at Biltine and Abéché (Camp Moll), in eastern Chad. Habré concentrated most of his forces near Fada; and when on 18 March the Libyan offensive was at last started the result was a disaster for Gaddafi. 1,200 Libyans were killed and 500 taken prisoner, and Faya-Largeau, the main Libyan stronghold in Chad, was taken without fighting on 27 March. In this recapture of Northern Chad, France did not officially take part in the fighting; but it is believed that a special unit of the DGSE (Service Action) participated in the taking of Ouadi Doum. But it was only in May, when the French Defence Minister Alain Giraud visited the town of Faya-Largeau, that the respect of the 16th parallel by the French troops was declared no longer applicable. Libyan expulsion from Chad did not end the Chadian-Libyan conflict: the dispute over who was the rightful possessor of the Aouzou strip remained open, and when Habré occupied Aouzou on 8 August, the French contingent was once again involved. This happened on 25 August, when Gaddafi bombed Faya-Largeau, where a French parachute regiment was stationed, but without causing any real damage. And when Habré started yet another new offensive, in retaliation a Tupolev Tu-22 was sent on 7 September to bomb the capital, but the aircraft was destroyed by the Army MIM-23 Hawk battery, proving the efficiency of the French defences of N'Djamena. A simultaneous Libyan attack on Abéché was more successful, if not very effective, owing to the inadequacy of the French Air Force SAM Crotale battery recently deployed. France decided not to react to these attacks, to prevent an escalation. On 11 September, Chadians and Libyans accept a ceasefire mediated by the OAU, which put an end to the war. While long negotiations between the two parties started, the French continued to fortify their positions in Chad, for example by completing an air strip at Abéché in September. The French started assuming humanitarian tasks, such as mine-clearing in northern Chad; it was during one of these missions that Opération Épervier reported on 14 January 1988 its first loss. The Chadian-Libyan conflict came to an end in October 1988, when Chad resumed formal diplomatic relations with Libya, in accordance with recommendations made by the OAU. As a result, the French contingent started diminishing, also for economic reasons: in 1987 alone, Opération Épervier had cost France 1,700,000 French francs. In 1989 the number of men deployed to Chad had fallen to 1,000, and many minor bases had been dismantled. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Opération Épervier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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