Because of the threat of imminent war in the Gulf, France went to the UN Security Council and asked that the Legion be recognized as an official part of the French Army. This was a monumental moment in the history of the French Foreign Legion. Its status had changed for ever.
Within days of this request being accepted, the Legion started to deploy units to the Gulf ahead of the Regular French Army units. The 1st Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Infantry Regiment plus a detachment from the 6th Engineer Regiment left for Saudi Arabia to join the Coalition forces forming up to repulse Saddam’s army, which was occupying Kuwait. All the CRAP units of the French 11th Parachute Division were also put on alert for immediate deployment. This would be a mechanized war which meant that parachute units like the REP would not be involved directly in the conflict. It would be a different story if it came down to having to move into cities like Baghdad, but for the moment, as a regiment, we would not be involved.
On the day word came that the CRAP were to be deployed to the Gulf, we were on exercise in mainland France. Within hours we had flown back to Calvi, packed our gear and were heading back to join the other CRAP units.
On arrival in Saudi Arabia, it was decided that the Special Force units should be multi-national, drawing on the best expertise available from within the Coalition forces. We had arrived weeks ahead of the principal forces. Heavy equipment had to be brought in from the four corners of the world and it would be at least a couple of months before Coalition forces would be ready to move. We had arrived early with the intention of making sorties into Iraq to gather information about the deployment and strength of the Iraqi forces remaining in the country, either in reserve for Kuwait, or as protection for the Iraqi military infrastructure such as air bases and ammunition supply dumps. Satellite images could tell you a lot but this information still requires to be confirmed by good old-fashioned ground work.
Saddam had made a bold move and I am sure that he did not believe that the UN would sanction the use of force to remove him from Kuwait. It was his belief that if the West became aggressive towards him, the Arab world would unite to back him in a holy war. This was the first of many errors of judgement to be made by Saddam.
We were on strict instructions to avoid all contact with the enemy during the build-up. It was clear from the information we gathered in our sorties into Iraq that their forces were stretched to the limit and did not have the capacity to take on the huge force that was building up on the other side of the border. The Republican Guard were the only professional soldiers in Saddam’s army and had been used for the invasion of Kuwait. Although his army was large in numbers, it was made up of young untrained conscripts who didn’t appear to be aware of what was about to descend on them from a great height.
One thing that did worry us was the large numbers of mobile Scud missile units that could be deployed. Israel and Saudi Arabia were well within striking distance and we believed that they could be equipped with chemical warheads. The fact that they could be disguised as container lorries made them hard to track from the air.
I had brought the new digital photographic equipment with me which enabled me to send back real-time images of anti-aircraft defences and their exact location using GPS. This was modern warfare. The GPS location of a designated target would be fed into the guidance system of a missile which would then take it out even if it could not be seen from the air.
In the middle of all this we were suddenly redeployed. We were preparing for another mission into Iraq when we were told to grab all our gear and get on a Hercules. We had no idea where we were heading until we were halfway into the flight. The pro-French government in Tchad had suddenly been overthrown in a military coup backed by Libya. Everyone’s attention was focused on what was happening in the Middle East and I suppose they thought that the coup would be unopposed. What they’d failed to appreciate was that French parachute regiments would not only be available but were on G1 alert and could respond immediately. France would not intervene in the internal affairs of the country, but was committed to the protection of the expat community and to ensure that no third party crossed the borders of Tchad or played a part in the disruption of the democratic process of the country.
The airport at Ndjemina was already under the control of the French forces stationed in the country, so our arrival was not a problem. The Regiment flew out from Calvi and arrived just fifteen minutes after our own arrival. Our immediate mission was to secure the safety of all foreigners and escort them to the airport. We could not force them to leave, but few were willing to risk their lives in what was a very hostile and fragile environment.
Groups of Tchadien soldiers were roaming the streets, no one seemed to be in charge and most were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They were looting the shops and generally terrorizing anyone they came across –it was not a place to be white or living in an isolated villa.
Two Air France 747s were brought in to assist with the rapid evacuation of the civilians who were now packing the airport. Many had lived and worked in Tchad for years and were leaving behind their jobs, homes and in some cases everything they possessed. There was no guarantee that they would ever be able to return. I felt sorry for many of them. There were also those, mostly businessmen I might add, who were trying everything to get to the head of the queue to get on the aircraft. They soon found themselves at the back of the queue again when they were hauled out of the line by the legionnaires in charge of boarding the aircraft.
At the front of the terminal there were hundreds of 4x4 Toyota Landcruisers abandoned with the keys still in the ignitions. Several were commandered by ourselves for transport and I managed to get my hands on a top-of-the-range model left by a very obnoxious gentleman. This particular vehicle was eventually given to someone who had once been part of the Regiment and now ran an orphanage just outside the capital with the aid of the REP and families, who regularly collected clothes and books to send out to him. There was no way he would abandon the children and the Regiment left a combat group with him to ensure their security. By the evening of the third day all the civilians who wished to leave had been evacuated. There had been some nervous moments but the evacuation had gone well. Not a single shot had been exchanged and things were a lot quieter in the town center.
Things changed suddenly when two giant Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft belonging to the Libyan Air Force flew across the border on a direct course for Ndjemina. Two French Mirage fighters were scrambled and we were told by the new government that they had permission to land. A delegation from the new Tchadien government arrived at the airport insisting that they should be given access to the aircraft when they landed. They claimed that the aircraft were there to pick up hundreds of Libyan prisoners who were being held in Tchad and were to be repatriated to Libya. Permission was given for the aircraft to land, but they were directed to a parking spot chosen by us and a security cordon was thrown round the aircraft. No one was allowed to disembark and we escorted two representatives of the Tchadien government onto the aircraft.
Lorries arrived carrying over 300 prisoners in prison uniforms that looked to me to be no more than striped pyjamas. Most were infirm and malnourished, and it was clear that they had not had an easy time. I wondered how many had died and why the French authorities and the Red Cross claimed not to have known of their existence. They were brought into the airport and lined up between the terminal and the waiting aircraft. We did our best to ensure that they were all Libyans as claimed and not Tchadiens from the old regime being flown out to Libya. While this was taking place, two armoured Mercedes limos were rolled out of the aircraft onto the tarmac. It was claimed that they were gifts from Colonel Gadaffi to the new Tchadien President. Closer examination showed that they were filled with gifts and ladies’ clothes, including fur coats. The cars were seized by the French authorities and secured in an aircraft hangar within the French military air base at the other side of the airport.
The aircraft left an hour later with their human cargo and the following morning the same two aircraft were back on the tarmac for a repeat operation, although this time minus the gifts.
Before this exchange of prisoners could take place, a couple of ‘men in black suits’, came into the airport and asked to speak to our Colonel. They were accompanied by the French Ambassador and the American Consul. Not all of the Libyan prisoners captured over the years had found their way into the hands of the Tchadiens. A large number had been taken to a special detention camp at a secret location about 50 miles outside of the capital. The men in black suits said that the Tchadien government did not know anything about the existence of the camp, or of its prisoners. The French Ambassador claimed that the first he had heard of it was an hour earlier.
The camp was run by the CIA and was used to train those in detention to go back into their own country to undermine the Gadaffi regime, commit acts of sabotage, assassinations and to spy for the Americans. All of this was done for financial reward and the promise of a new life in the States on completion of their missions. Due to the new pro Libyan government, the existence of the camp was not now sustainable and they wanted to fly their prisoners out of the country. Everything had to be done in the utmost secrecy and a plan was made to bring them to the airport and fly them out without the Tchadiens or Libyans knowing what was going on.
The problem was that we were going to have both Libyan and American aircraft at the airport at the same time. At 2.00 pm exactly, two US Galaxy C-5B transporters landed, we closed the airport down and confined the Libyans to their aircraft. When they saw the American aircraft touch down they were worried that they were about to mount an assault on them, but the aircraft continued to the far end of the runway before coming to a halt in a position out of sight of the terminal. The prisoners were transported in covered lorries to a point just outside the boundary fence next to where the American planes were waiting. Two French helicopters circled low overhead causing a sandstorm with the downdraft of their rotor blades, effectively preventing anyone seeing what was going on. We cut a hole in the fence and quickly loaded the prisoners onto the aircraft. The whole operation took less than fifteen minutes from touchdown to take-off, and the CIA left with them.
Just before they left they gave us the coordinates and keys for another secret location. They did not tell us what we would find there but asked us to destroy everything. Less than five minutes from the airport we found five large brick warehouses enclosed by a 10-foot-high barbed-wire security fence. There were two civilian articulated lorries parked inside the compound and the sign on the gate said that it was a transport company. We had passed this complex many times and had not given it a second glance.
There was no one about and the padlocks looked brand new – not a problem as we had the keys. When we went inside the buildings we found a complete arsenal, enough weapons to equip an army. The strange thing was that although many of the weapons seemed to be of Russian or Chinese origin, they weren’t. Closer examination showed that the AK47 assault rifles were of American manufacture and were still wrapped in their original packaging. We also found a large quantity of American and French-made ground-to-air missiles, mines, grenades, explosives and thousands of rounds of small-arms munitions. When we searched the offices we found lots of paperwork that clearly indicated where the munitions came from.
Our orders were to destroy everything we found, including the paperwork. In the last warehouse we found a perfectly preserved ex-Soviet helicopter gunship. It had all of the identity marks removed and looked as though it was about to have a paint job. It had all its armaments in place with air-to-surface missiles hanging from its stubby little wings. Where on earth had this come from?
A short time later, the two Merc limos were driven into the complex and secured in one of the warehouses, still with the ‘gifts’ inside them. We rigged the entire complex with explosives and withdrew to a safe distance. An area of approximately one square mile had been secured round the complex for safety reasons. When the explosives were fired, the resulting detonations were seen and heard for miles. The ground shook and a huge fireball climbed into the sky.
The Tchadien authorities demanded an explanation as to what had happened but were told that the warehouse complex must have been destroyed by a stray round. The odd mortar bomb had landed near the airport and the explanation was feasible. It didn’t explain what had been in the buildings to cause such a huge detonation but it was the best they were going to get. After the departure of the American aircraft, the transfer of the second batch of Libyans held by the Tchadiens went ahead without a hitch.
There was an unspoken agreement amongst all of the parties involved that no questions would be asked and the incident was closed. We never found out where the Americans had flown their prisoners to, but perhaps it was the first example of American rendition flights. We had done nothing to aid or hinder the political changes taking place within Tchad but we had cut off all physical links between Libya and the would-be government. Without this aid, the revolt was short lived.
The Regiment maintained its presence in the country for a few weeks but we headed back to Saudi Arabia where things were hotting up as the Coalition forces grew in size ready for the push to remove the Iraqi forces from Kuwait.