Operation Épervier was the French military presence in Chad from 1986 until 2014. Containing Libya Operation Épervier began on the night of February 13th and 14th 1986, under the defence agreement between France and Chad, and was prepared during a meeting in 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 resulted in 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 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the belief that there would be no French reaction. The French Air Force was the first to strike: on February 16 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 troops. On February 17, 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 (it may have hit by twin-tubes that fired in N'Djamena airport). On February 18, 200 French Commandos took possession of Camp Dubut, near N'Djamena, which had previously been France's headquarters during Operation Manta (1983–1984). The Commandos secured the camp for the mission's air force. The air force arrived the night of the 18th and was composed of six Mirage F1, 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 March 3, 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,