France says Chad remains committed to G5 Sahel counter-terror force

Chad’s military is considered one of the most professional in the region and is a vital part of the 5,000-strong G5 force

Chad’s President Idriss Deby caused confusion and concern earlier this month when he said his country’s military would no longer take part in missions beyond its border. Reuters

Chad remains committed to the G5 Sahel counterterrorism force, the French government said on Friday, a week after President Idriss Deby announced his troops would no longer participate in operations beyond Chad’s borders.

Deby’s announcement, following a Boko Haram militant attack that killed 98 Chadian troops, raised questions about the impact on regional co-operation against violent extremists in the Sahel.

Chad’s military is an important part of the 5,000-strong G5 force alongside Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Mauritania in co-operating with French troops to combat a growing Islamist insurgency.

“The Chadian army is engaged on numerous fronts,” the French minister for the army, Florence Parly, told a hearing before the French Senate committee on defence.

She said Chad would send a battalion to north Niger as part of G5 operations, as originally planned.

It is the first time the French government has commented since Chad’s announcement last week.

Mr Deby surprised G5 partners and France’s counter-extremism forces in Operation Barkhane in the Sahel when he said no Chadian soldier would participate in operations outside the nation’s border.

His comments also fuelled speculation about exactly how he planned to realign co-operation for Chad’s military, considered one of the most professional in the region.

Chad’s military participates in the Multinational Joint Force (FMM), which since 2015 has been fighting Boko Haram, now very established in the Lake Chad basin, on the border with Niger and Cameroon.

It also supplies troops to the UN mission known as Minusma in Mali, where militants have stepped up their campaign in the centre of the country.

The G5 Sahel initiative began in 2017 in a scheme aimed at easing the Sahel’s dependence on French troops. But it has run into problems of funding, training and equipment.

Ms Parly is expected to meet her Chadian counterpart next week, her cabinet said on Friday.

She also said: “Things have always been clear enough” between Paris and N’Djamena since the president’s remarks.