Hello and welcome.
Today we are discussing Chad’s announcement on Saturday, August 21, that it was withdrawing and redeploying 600 soldiers, half of its contingent, from the Multinational G5 Sahel Joint Force, a group of five Sahelian countries, comprising Chad, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
The G5 Sahel Joint Force was established in 2017 to respond to the expansion of armed and violent extremist groups and to the deteriorating security situation in the region.
Since then a contingent of 1,200 Chadian troops have been deployed in anti-jihadist missions in the volatile tri-border area of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Abderaman Koulamallah, a spokesman for the Chad government, said that still leaves about 600 soldiers on the ground, adding that the redeployment had been planned for some time and in cooperation with the G5.
In June this year, France suspended military ties with Mali in response to a military coup on the 25th of May, the second in less than a year, by Colonel Assimi Goïta, who ousted the country’s civilian president and the prime minister.
After the decision by France, there was an escalation in violent attacks in the region. And with Chad’s recent withdrawal of troops, concern is growing over even more security threats. On Monday, the 23rd of August, 16 Nigerien soldiers were killed in a brutal attack on a village in southwest Niger. Officials said 37 civilians, including 14 children, were killed.
Our guests are:
- Ibrahim Umara, a professor of political science and strategic studies at the University of Maiduguri;
- Christantus Lapang, a national conflict analyst; and
- Abba Gana Wakil Mahamadou, from Niger, an expert in international relations and strategic studies.
