African state threatens to withdraw from security mission

Chad’s president says the multinational force established to fight insurgents appears to be in a “slump”

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has threatened to withdraw his country from a multinational security force over an alleged lack of coordinated efforts among the member states’ troops to combat militant groups in the Lake Chad region.

Mahamat Deby made the remarks on Sunday while visiting an area where at least 40 of the Central African state’s soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists late last month. The assault is said to have been one of the deadliest on Chadian forces since 2020, when approximately 100 soldiers were killed in a raid, prompting then-President Idriss Deby to launch an operation against the Islamist militants.

Following the latest assault, the Chadian leader announced the launch of “Operation Haskanite,” a military operation with new troops deployed to the region to track down and neutralize the members of the terror group. President Mahamat Deby has led the offensive since October 28, a day after the terrorist attack, according to a statement from his office.

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The Lake Chad basin borders Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, with each country, as well as Benin, contributing troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which was formed in response to cross-border raids by the Boko Haram movement. However, funding problems, as well as other commitment issues, have hampered the force’s effectiveness in fighting the insurgency, which the UN estimates has killed 40,000 people in Nigeria alone.

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On Sunday, Chad’s leader, whose father died on the front lines fighting rebels in 2021, said N’Djamena is considering withdrawing from the MNJF because the mission, which was established “with the aim of pooling efforts and intelligence, seems to be in a slump.” He expressed concern at “the lack of joint efforts against the common enemy, which is unfortunately always observed on the ground.”

Chadian lecturer Remadji Hoinathy, a researcher on strategic development in Central Africa and the Lake Chad Basin Commission, told state TV that the former French colony’s leader is dissatisfied because he is not receiving immediate assistance from Benin, Cameroon, Benin, Niger, and Nigeria in quelling the terrorists.