Dozens of US troops are expected to withdraw from Chad in the coming daysthree senior US officials said on Thursday, as quoted by the Washington Post.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the military moves, said the repositioning may be temporary as the United States intends to negotiate with Chad on their security relationship – including the potential return of troops that have left – following the country’s May 6 presidential election.
This marks the second time within a week that the administration of Biden has signaled that he will comply with the host country’s directive and will remove its deployed forces from an African country considered integral to US counterterrorism operations in the region.
On Friday, officials said that The United States has agreed to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from neighboring Niger.
The official stressed that unlike Niger, the government of Chad has not abrogated the “status of forces” agreement“, which governs its military relations with the United States. Rather, the departure of the special forces troops follows an apparent disagreement between American officials and a Chadian general who claims that Washington has failed to produce documents justifying its military presence in N’Djamenaand has asked the Americans to “immediately cease” their activities at the base.
Those concerns, raised by Idris Amin Ahmed, a top general in Chad’s air force, were conveyed by letter rather than through traditional diplomatic channels, according to two U.S. officials.
A spokesman for the Chadian government did not respond to requests for comment.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said Thursday during a press conference that talks with Chad were continuing, with commanders “planning to reposition some U.S. military forces.”
The White House: We’re pulling out of Niger
An important decision for Africa
