G5 Sahel: Chad withdraws 600 soldiers from the “three border zone”

Published on : 08/21/2021 – 16:04

Chad has halved its troops mobilized in February as part of the anti-jihadist force of the G5 Sahel in the “three border zone”, on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, announced on Saturday (August 21st) in AFP, the government’s spokesperson.

“We redeployed 600 men in Chad in agreement with the G5 Sahel forces. This is a strategic redeployment to better adapt to the organization of terrorists,” said Abderaman Koulamallah.

A contingent of 1,200 Chadian soldiers had been deployed in this area to fight against jihadist groups, as part of the multinational force of the G5 Sahel. This group of five Sahelian countries has been trying since 2017 to cooperate in this fight.

Need for a mobile force

“We have about 600 soldiers left on the ground. It is a long-standing concerted decision with the G5 command. We wanted to lighten the device which was not suitable,” said Abderaman Koulamallah.

“Compared to the situation on the ground, we must have a mobile force, hence the withdrawal of some of our forces with heavy weapons,” he added. “Our political will to face the jihadists remains intact,” continued the government spokesperson.

The “three borders” area is, along with central Mali, the most affected by jihadist attacks. The dead, both civilians and soldiers, number in the thousands.

The last attack on Saturday against a village in this area in Niger left a dozen civilians dead. On Monday, another attack left 37 dead.

France, very involved in the anti-jihadist fight in the region, recently announced the gradual reduction of its military personnel in the Sahel in favor of a reduced device from 2,500 to 3,000 men, against the 5,000 or so who made up the Barkhane force. made to disappear.

With AFP