To remove this threat, Habré ordered Djamous to take 2,000 troops and destroy the main Libyan airbase in southern Libya, Maaten al-Sarra, 60 miles north of the Chadian-Libyan border. Habré may also have been encouraged in this raid by French President François Mitterrand's public declaration on September 3 that the Red Line was obsolete and thus French troops in Chad would no longer be bound by it.
To eliminate this threat, Habré ordered Djamous to bring 2,000 soldiers and destroy the main Libyan airbase at Maaten al-Sarra, located 60 miles north of the Chadian-Libyan border. Habré may have been encouraged by French President François Mitterrand's statement on September 3 that the Red Line was outdated, thus permitting French troops in Chad to operate without it.