Maaten al-Sarra Air Base

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Maaten al-Sarra Libyan Air Force Base[1]
IATA: - ICAO:
Summary
Airport type Military
Operator Libyan Air Force
Elevation AMSL 1722 ft (525 m)
Coordinates 21°41′15.18″N, 21°49′51.36″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
01R/19L 7491 2283 Asphalt
01L/19R 11013 3357 Asphalt

The Maaten al-Sarra Libyan Air Force Base is an airbase in southernmost Libya in the Al Kufrah municipality. It is one of the 13 military airbases in Lbya.[2]

During the final phase of the Chadian-Libyan conflict, Maaten al-Sarra was the main air base in Southern Libya[3], being provided with three modern runways and an ample parking space that could support over 100 combat aircraft.[4]

When in 1987 the Chadian army attacked Libyan positions in northern Chad, in the so-called Toyota War, after a string of victories the Chadians were defeated in August in the battle of Aouzou, mainly due to Libyan airpower. The Chadian commands decided that before renewing the offensive against the Aouzou Strip it was vital to deal with the menace represented by the Libyan Air Force, 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 spectacular Chadian victories in the conflict, with 1,700 Libyans killed and 300 taken prisoners.[5] The Chadian victory, because of Libyan demoralization at home and international hostility, brought to an agreed ceasefire on September 11 that put an end to the war.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ World Aero Data: Matan as Sarra
  2. ^ Middle East Military Balance: Libya
  3. ^ Vanderwalle, Dirk J. (2006). A History of Modern Libya. Cambridge University Press, 148. ISBN 0-5218-5048-7. 
  4. ^ Popper, Steven W. (1989). The Economic Cost of Soviet Military Manpower Requirements. RAND, 145. ISBN 0-8330-0934-6. 
  5. ^ Pollack, Kenneth M. (2002). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press, 396. ISBN 0-8032-3733-2. 
  6. ^ Nolutshungu, Sam C. (1995). Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad. University of Virginia Press, 222–223. ISBN 0-8139-1628-3. 
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