THERE ISIn Chad, the United States has about a hundred troops as part of the fight against jihadists in the Sahel. “Usafricom is currently considering the repositioning of certain US military forces from Chad, part of which is already planned to leavePentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a news conference Thursday, referring to the US military command in Africa.
“This is an interim step in the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will continue after the presidential elections in Chad on May 6.“, he added.
US presence now “illegal”
In a letter to the minister of the armed forces read by AFP, the chief of staff of the Chadian air force called for the departure of American troops in early April, blaming the lack of documents for the agreement allowing their presence.
According to this letter, “The Air Force asked the US Defense Attaché to immediately halt military activities at BAK“, the Adji Kosei Air Base where US soldiers are training Chadian special forces to fight against the Boko Haram jihadist group. “We ask that you speak to whoever is concerned to alert the American people that we have made the decision to terminate their activity.”adds a letter.
In Niger, another linchpin of the United States and France’s strategy to fight jihadists in the region, the military junta in power since July denounced in March a military cooperation agreement in place with the United States, believing that the American presence now “illegal“.
This week, Washington began talks with Niamey on the withdrawal from Niger of more than 1,000 US troops present in the country. In particular, the United States has a large drone base near Agadez, Niger, built at a cost of around $100 million.
Washington will “continue to explore possible options to ensure we are always able to deal with potential terrorist threats” Pat Ryder said on Monday after last week’s announcement of the US withdrawal from Niger.
In Chad, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno announced his candidacy for the presidential election in March, which he is almost guaranteed to win after his regime violently suppressed the streets and stifled all opposition and eliminated all competition.
The military declared him interim president on April 20, 2021, at the head of a junta of 15 generals, following the death of his father, Idris Debi Itna, who ruled Chad with an iron fist for 30 years.
His main opponent, Yaya Dillo, was killed at the end of February by soldiers in an attack on his party, “with a blow to the head from close range” according to the opposition, and then the candidacies of ten other potential rivals were canceled.
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