More US trouble in Africa as Chad threatens to boot out US troops
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In a letter sent to the US defense attaché last week, Chadian officials threatened to end the Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA.
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Members of the Chadian police parade during the 63rd Independence Day celebrations in N'Djamena on August 11, 2023. (AFP)
Four US officials divulged that the government of Chad has written a letter threatening to discontinue a crucial security pact, threatening the US military presence in yet another African country, something highly worrying for US officials who claim there is increasing Russian influence in the region, CNN reported.
In a letter sent to the US defense attaché last week, Chadian officials threatened to end the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, which governs the rules and circumstances under which US military forces may operate in the nation. While the letter did not explicitly command the US military to leave Chad, authorities told CNN that it required all US personnel to depart the French facility in N'Djamena.
Two sources explained that the letter identified the US Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) at the site, which serves as a vital hub for US Special Operations Forces in the region. However, the task force is not the sole presence of US military troops at the site; all US service members in Chad are stationed in N'Djamena.
Both sources warned that the letter may be a negotiating technique used by the Chadian administration to get a new deal that better suits their interests, citing it had caught US officials off guard.
The precise number of US forces in the nation is unknown, although one US official claims they are fewer than 100.
Following in Niger's footsteps?
Neighboring Niger declared in March an abrupt end to a longstanding military agreement with the US. A correspondent from Sputnik last week revealed that Russian experts have landed in Niger to train local forces on combating terrorism.
According to the spokesperson of the Nigerien military, the accord, which facilitated the "illegal" presence of American military personnel and civilian staff from the Department of Defense within the Nigerien borders, was severed due to being unfair and a tool used by the US to undermine the nation's sovereignty.
In March, Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, head of US Africa Command, alleged to the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia was "trying to take over central Africa as well as the Sahel" at an "accelerated pace"
"(A) number of countries are at the tipping point of actually being captured by the Russian Federation as they are spreading some of their false narratives across Libya and from a strategic answer piece, access and influence across the whole Maghreb," he cautioned, calling for the need to "maintain access and influence across the Mahgreb, from Morocco to Libya."
Langley stated in a separate hearing with the House Armed Services Committee last month that Central African countries were "in a dilemma," needing developmental help from countries, such as Russia and China, while balancing those demands against "risks to national sovereignty."
“In this region, the stakes are high,” Langley stated.
Langley traveled to Chad in January of this year with Sgt. Maj. Michael Woods, AFRICOM's senior enlisted advisor. During his visit, Langley spoke with Chadian military authorities, including Gen. Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chad's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, according to an AFRICOM news release.
According to Langley, AFRICOM "remains dedicated to building enduring partnerships with Chad and other African nations."
