Azor,
From my "armchair" the situations are very different. Chad in 1987 was an obscure nation, largely desert and sparsely populated. Neither Narva, an Estonian city on the Russian border and The Spratlys are low profile, although the resident populations are very different.
The French and Libyans could use their approach without publicity and a local audience. It probably helped that Libya had few friends; although plenty of sellers of weapons.
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