Washington, 26 April 2024, (GNP): The Pentagon has announced that the United States will pull back a portion of its troops from Chad, following a recent decision to relocate forces from neighboring Niger.
As part of its efforts to counter extremism in West Africa, the United States currently has around 100 troops stationed in Chad.
“USAFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some US military forces from Chad, a portion of which were already scheduled to depart,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told a news conference on Thursday, referring to the US Africa Command unit.
“This is a temporary step as part of an ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6 presidential”.
The air force chief of Chad instructed the US military earlier this month to cease activities at an air base near the capital N’Djamena, as per a letter sent to the transitional government and reviewed by AFP.
He mentioned requesting documents from the US military justifying their presence at the Adji Kossei Air Base, yet had not received any.
At the Adji Kossei military base, US troops provide training for anti-terrorism special forces and an elite unit of the Chadian army to combat Boko Haram militants.
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“The presence of American forces in Chad was initially motivated by a common commitment to the fight against terrorism, an objective shared between the two nations,” a Chadian government spokesperson told on Friday.
“However, concerns have been expressed by the Chadian general staff about this presence” and “in recognition of the concerns expressed, the US government has decided to temporarily withdraw its forces from Chad,” said Abderaman Koulamallah.
It’s crucial to emphasize that this withdrawal does not indicate a cessation of cooperation between the two nations in the battle against terrorism.
“Further discussions will take place to explore the possibility of the return of US forces in the case of a specific bilateral agreement between the two nations.”
Niger, a neighboring country, is also central to the US and French strategy in countering militants in the area.
However, Niger’s military government announced in March that it would terminate a military cooperation pact with Washington, alleging it was forced upon them and that the presence of US troops was unlawful.