US General: Chad agrees to bring back US forces

Pentagon — 

The U.S. is returning Special Forces troops to Chad aft leaving astatine the country’s petition astir 5 months ago.

"We person reached an statement connected the instrumentality of a constricted fig of Special Forces personnel," Maj. General Kenneth Ekman, who oversaw the caller U.S. withdrawal from Niger astatine the petition of U.S. Africa Command main Gen. Michael Langley, told VOA in an exclusive interrogation Thursday.

"It was a statesmanlike determination by [Chadian] President [Mahamat] Deby, but the determination is made, and present we're moving done the specifics connected however we return," helium added.

In April, the U.S. pulled retired immoderate 70 Special Forces unit from Chad up of the nation’s statesmanlike election. Deby won that predetermination and yet decided to let U.S. forces to return, a determination that was lone precocious relayed to U.S. Africa Command.

Ekman told VOA the U.S. subject plans a smaller cognition than the office that forces antecedently maintained successful Chad, whose 11,000-member counterterror unit is warring a increasing fig of Boko Haram and Islamic State militants astir Lake Chad.

"The absorption of attack from Chad is immensely important," Ekman said, particularly pursuing the U.S. subject withdrawal from Niger that officially ended connected Sunday with his departure from Niamey. "If our beingness successful Niger allowed america to spell wrong out, comparative to the Sahelian-based VEO [violent extremist organization] threat, we present person to revert to going extracurricular in."

The caput of U.S. Africa Command, General Michael Langley, has said his forces are starting to "reset and recalibrate" successful the region.

Before coups successful Niger, the U.S. had hundreds of forces successful 2 bases that served arsenic large counterterrorism hubs. Burkina Faso and Mali besides hosted U.S. Special Forces teams anterior to coups successful their countries that strained their narration with the United States and yet chopped disconnected U.S. subject entree to premier locations from which to show panic groups and bid section partners.

Under U.S. instrumentality the coups forestall AFRICOM from nonstop military-to-military cooperation.

Now, countries specified arsenic Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Chad volition find the U.S. counterterror strategy and unit spot successful West Africa.

"Each spouse has their ain unsocial information concerns. They besides person their ain respective tolerance and willingness to abide the beingness of U.S. forces," Ekman said.

Ghana and Nigeria person made it wide to the U.S. that they are not funny successful hosting U.S. forces, according to Ekman.

But arsenic the convulsive militant menace spreads chiefly southwest from the Sahel, immoderate West African nations on the seashore are asking for much U.S. capabilities. Even earlier the coup successful Niger, the U.S. started refurbishing an airfield successful Benin to accommodate U.S. subject aircraft.

After the coup successful Niger, the U.S. moved Special Forces into Ivory Coast arsenic well, Ekman told VOA. Any determination to found a larger subject beingness similar the 1 the U.S. built up successful Niger volition yet beryllium a argumentation decision.

"I don’t deliberation you’re going to spot different Air Base 201," said a elder U.S. subject authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon ongoing negotiations, referring to the $100 cardinal drone basal that the U.S. built successful the Nigerien desert.

Instead, the U.S. volition apt effort to enactment from wrong spouse unit garrisons done strengthening basal fortifications and capabilities, but the U.S. has not made this benignant of statement with immoderate West African partners since the withdrawal from Niger.

"We're not determination yet," Ekman said.

Diminished access

Since U.S. counterterror operations were halted successful Niger, Ekman cautions that the portion has go "more opaque" arsenic U.S. partnerships and entree person "diminished." It is much hard to show the panic menace successful West Africa, which hurts the U.S. quality to antagonistic it.

Officials admit the U.S. is present "soul searching," its assurance shaken from breached partnerships and determination approaches that person failed to tamp down the terrorists.

The U.S subject has been tasked with "treating the symptom: terrorism," the elder subject authoritative said, acknowledging that diplomatic and economical approaches are what is needed to antagonistic terrorism’s basal causes connected the continent.

The U.S. military’s withdrawal appears to beryllium a nett nonaccomplishment for Niger, the United States and different determination partners who had benefited from U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities disposable done its bases successful Niger.

Since the July 2023 coup, extremist attacks person go much lethal arsenic Niger has mislaid resources and partners.

"They’re perfectly feeling [those losses]," the elder subject authoritative said.

Ekman said helium believes that the U.S. and Niger’s shared information objectives volition proceed to nexus the 2 nations adjacent without American forces connected the ground.

"How we volition prosecute [those objectives], either unneurotic oregon apart, arsenic a effect of the withdrawal remains to beryllium seen, but we wanted to marque definite we kept each options connected the table," helium said.