The President of Chad, Idriss Deby on Friday announced that his country was no longer going to take part in any anti-terrorism operations outside its territories.
This pull out affects operations related to Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin and other militant groups in the Sahel region.
Deby said his country is withdrawing from a joint multinational task force that has been fighting terrorist group, Boko Haram for years in the region.
The Joint Multinational Task Force, JMNTF is made up of countries in the Lake Chad region impacted significantly by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The main members are Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon with Benin also contributing some personnel.
Chad is also part of the G5 Sahel operation to fight terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM.
The G5 in the Sahel also comprises Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso.
President Deby has in recent weeks been visiting Chadian troops in areas Boko Haram and other militants have been launching attacks against Chadian soldiers.
Je suis de retour dans la capitale. Je remercie très sincèrement toutes les Tchadiennes et tous les Tchadiens ainsi que les frères et soeurs africains pour le soutien apporté à nos Forces de Défense et de Sécurité. La paix, la sécurité et la stabilité sont des valeurs sacrées. pic.twitter.com/yGk9gWqNFS
— Idriss Deby Itno (@IdrissDebyI) April 9, 2020
Victory over Boko Haram
Chad destroyed five bases of the Boko Haram in response to an attack on a military base on March 23 that killed 98 Chadian soldiers.
Deby said after arriving back from his visit to the troops that “Our troops have died for Lake Chad and the Sahel. From today, no Chadian soldiers will take part in a military mission outside Chad.”
He had already claimed victory over the terrorist group, Boko Haram saying their bases have been completely destroyed.
Deby told his soldiers “This place will be our zone until Nigeria sends its troops. Stay with them for about a month. Do not let them free captured weapons or any Boko Haram (fighters).”
VIDEO: “Tchad is no place for #BokoHaram” @IdrissDebyI President of Tchad Republic pic.twitter.com/nHTbcUkGQb
— Dan-Borno (@DanBorno) April 10, 2020
Since Boko Haram launched its bloody insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria more than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced.
Boko Haram’s activities have extended beyond Nigeria to other countries within the Lake Chad Basin covering Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
These countries continue to struggle to completely defeat the terror group and often suffer deadly attacks from the group.
Source: Africafeeds.com
