While Chad must already manage the terrorist threat on its own territory, the country will increase its contingent of soldiers in the "three border zone". One way to support France, which is failing in the region.
Chad will at least be able to boast of being a paragon of sacrifice for its regional allies, and especially European. By keeping its promise to bring reinforcements to the anti-terrorism troops already present in the "three border zone", this country will remove a fine thorn from the side of Emmanuel Macron's France, in a situation of failure in the region. THEEven in the grip of terrorists from the Islamic State and Boko Haram, Idriss Déby's Chad announced, this week after the end of the first day of the G5 Sahel summit, the dispatch of 1 soldiers.
Impassable terrain
The border region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has been the scene of a long war of the French army and its international and regional allies against terrorist groups for more than a decade now. All the protagonists of African and international terrorism have found refuge there: GSIM, AQIM, Boko Haram, EIGS ...
Several reasons explain this choice. First of all, geographically, the region is not only well positioned, but it forms a natural fortress thanks to the rugged terrain that surrounds it. Then, an old friendship binds the first leaders of these terrorist groups with the villagers of the region. This friendship is being reborn because of the feeling of abandonment of this population.
The states concerned, particularly Burkina Faso, have been unable to make progress in terms of urbanization and economic development in the region. In addition, whenever counterterrorism forces intervene in the tri-border area, civilians are killed. Enough to exasperate the local populations.
Terrorist groups are invested in the management of the region's natural resources. They benefit, in exchange, from the protection of self-defense groups set up by the populations themselves.
No army, the French forces included, was able to penetrate and control this zone under the yoke of the terrorists. Chadian involvement could therefore have disastrous results, even with French logistical support. Chad does not even have control of its own national territory, at the center of which the EIGS holds gold mines and regularly attacks civilians as well as the police.
Chad towards a human sacrifice?
Following the meeting between Idriss Déby Itno and Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on January 18, the Chadian President declared: “Our discussions focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and subjects of common interest. I welcome our convergence of views on counterterrorism strategies ”. Two countries that have failed in the conflict against terrorism, whose strategic views converge ...
For its part, France negotiated with Chad from a position of strength. French diplomatic efforts could determine the fate of Chad's national debt, and President Déby, in power for 30 years, is seeking a sixth term. The Chadian presidential election will take place on April 11, 2021. And French support for the incumbent president could bode well for Déby.
Has a political agreement been found between the two heads of state? Officially, the President of Chad was in Paris "only" to talk about the strategy of combating terrorism. For Déby, this bet is risky: sending poorly trained and poorly equipped soldiers can turn out to be catastrophic. The French military logistics of Operation Barkhane was also the cause of the death of many French soldiers and tens of thousands of Nigerien, Malian and Burkinabé civilians.
Chad will be the most represented African state in the war against terrorist groups in the heart of the Sahelo-Saharan strip, with more than 1 soldiers in total. But at what cost ?