US to Withdraw Troops from Chad Amid Military Cooperation Review

The United States will withdraw part of its military contingent from Chad, Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder announced during a briefing. The broadcast was streamed on the department’s X page (previously on Twitter). «As I understand it, as negotiations continue with the Chadian authorities, the U.S. Africa Command plans to move some U.S. troops out of Chad, with the departure of some already planned», - he said. Ryder described this decision as temporary, characterizing it as «part of a review of military cooperation» between the countries. The intention of the U.S. to withdraw several dozen special operations forces from Chad in the coming days was previously reported by The New York Times, citing American officials.



Deputy spokesperson for the State Department, Vedant Patel, stated that Washington is in consultations with the Chadian government «regarding defense partnership». According to him, the leadership of the republic is currently «focused on preparing for the upcoming presidential elections» scheduled for May 6. The U.S. expects these consultations to «continue and expand after» the voting, Patel added. As reported by Reuters on April 19, citing a letter sent to the interim government, Chadian Air Force Chief of Staff Idriss Amin Ahmed demanded that the U.S. military attaché cease operations at the Adji Kossei airbase near the capital city of N’Djamena. He explained this by stating that there were no grounds for their presence, the agency reported. The letter specifically mentioned that Idriss Amin Ahmed did not consider the agreement on logistical and personnel support to be sufficient, the publication noted. According to a U.S. State Department representative contacted by the agency, there are fewer than a hundred American military personnel in Chad, all on a rotational basis. Their main task is to plan missions in the region, he clarified.