Chad to halve its troops fighting Sahel militants

2021-08-23 03:56:47

Chad has decided to recall half of its 1,200 troops battling militants in the tri-border area of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, a spokesperson for the Chadian authorities said. Chad deployed the soldiers in February to support a France-backed regional fight with insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh who have destabilized swathes of territory in West Africa’s Sahel region in recent years. The decision to withdraw 600 of these soldiers was taken with the agreement of Chad’s Sahel allies, Gen. Azem Bermandoa Agouna said, speaking on behalf of the Transitional Military Council in Chad. The recalled Chadian troops would be redeployed elsewhere, Agouna said. The authorities in Chad have faced a separate conflict this year with insurgents in the north. France has also said it plans to reduce its presence in the Sahel to around half the current level of some 5,100 soldiers, although it has given no time frame.