Chad Withdraws 600 Troops From Anti-Jihadist Fight

Chad says it will recall 600 troops, half its contingent, from the multinational G5 Sahel force in the troubled three-border region of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where an upsurge in jihadist violence has cost thousands of lives.

Spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah told Newsmen that the move is a strategic redeployment to better adapt to the organisation of the terrorists and had been planned for some time and in cooperation with the G5’s leadership

Koulamallah insists Chad’s commitment to fighting the jihadists remained intact adding that what was needed was a mobile force, hence the withdrawal of some of our forces with heavy weapons.

Chad’s 1,200-strong contingent was deployed there to fight the jihadists, part of a force to which all five of the Sahel region countries — which also includes Mauritania — have contributed since 2017.

The three-borders region along with central Mali, are the areas hardest hit by the jihadists, who have killed thousands of people, soldiers and civilians.

The latest jihadist attack, against a village in Niger’s part of the border region, claimed at least 10 lives on Saturday.

France, also heavily involved in the Sahel, recently announced it was cutting its military presence in the region from around 5,000 to between 2,500 and 3,000 troops.

Paris had long been calling for a greater Chadian contribution before their soldiers arrived in February.

Chad’s junta is led by the son of president Idriss Deby Itno, who died in April fighting rebels in the north. The 37-year-old Mahamat Idriss Deby has consolidated nearly all powers around himself and 14 generals who were close to his father.