Chadian leader reports peace feelers with Libya

President Hissein Habre said his government has had contacts with Libya in search of a peaceful end to Chad's civil war, but he rejected talks with Libyan-backed rebel leader Goukhouni Woddei. It was the first official reference to peace feelers toward Libya. Mr. Habre also accused Moscow of backing a planned Libyan advance and issued an urgent appeal for more military aid from France and other Western countries.

As French troops were reported to have frozen the advance of Libyan troops, a public opinion poll showed 53 percent of the French public is against direct military intervention. The poll, published in the daily newspaper Le Quotidien, showed that 62 percent thought the civil war would become a major international conflict.