The Maaten al-Sarra Air Base is an airbase in southernmost

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

located near the

Ma'tan as-Sarra Ma'tan as-Sarra is an oasis in the Kufra District municipality in the southeast corner of Libya. It is located in the Libyan Desert, southwest of Kufra. A marginal oasis, with few palms and substandard water, it allowed the creation in 1811 of t ...

oasis in the

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. It is one of the 13 military airbases in Libya. During the final phase of the Chadian-Libyan conflict, Maaten al-Sarra was the main air base in Southern Libya, having three modern

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s and parking space for over 100

combat aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on support roles: * Combat aircraft, ...

History

When in 1987 the

Chadian army The Chadian National Army (; , ANT) consists of the five Defence and Security Forces listed in Article 185 of the Chadian constitution of 2018, Chadian Constitution that came into effect on 4 May 2018. These are the National Army (including Chadi ...

attacked Libyan positions in northern

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, in the

Toyota War The Toyota War (, ), also known as the Great Toyota War, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Chad–Libya border, was the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan War. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, primarily the Toyo ...

, after a string of victories the Chadians were defeated in August in the

Battle of Aouzou The Battle of Aouzou refers to a pair of battles fought between Chad and Libya in and around the town of Aouzou (Chad) in August 1987, as part of the Toyota War, the last phase of the larger Chadian–Libyan conflict. The first battle resul ...

, mainly due to Libyan airpower. The Chadian command decided that before renewing the offensive against the

Aouzou Strip The Aouzou Strip (; , ) is a strip of land in northern Chad that lies along the Chad–Libya border, border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est, and Tibesti regions for an a ...

, it was vital to deal with the threat represented by the

Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force () is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable ai ...

, and thus planned a surprise attack on Maaten al-Sarra, 60 miles north of the Chadian–Libyan border. The attack, which took place on September 5, was one of the most significant Chadian victories in the conflict, with 1,700 Libyans killed and 300 taken prisoner. The Chadian victory, because of Libyan demoralization at home and international hostility, brought an agreed

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

on September 11 that put an end to the war.

References

Libyan Air Force bases Airports in Libya {{Libya-airport-stub Kufra District

History

See also

References