After Niger, US to also pull out troops from Chad amid shifting alliances, growing Russian footprint

Dozens of American military personnel will likely leave Chad in the coming days, at least temporarily, which comes days after Washington agreed to pull out about 1,000 of its troops from neighboring Niger following the ruling junta’s decision to cancel a military accord with the US.

The United States is expected to begin withdrawing its troops out of Niger and now also Chad following deteriorating relations with both of the African countries, which coincides with Russia’s increasing influence in the continent. But unlike in Niger, Chad’s government has not canceled the “status of forces” agreement that governed its military relationship with the United States, according to senior US government sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Some of the about 100 US military personnel in Chad will be pulled out amid a broader, involuntary reconfiguration of Washington’s security policy in a volatile part of Africa.

The repositioning could be temporary, the senior officials said, as Washington hopes to negotiate with Chad about their security relationship — including potentially returning the troops who departed — following the country’s presidential elections 6 May. After the US agreed last week to pull out more than 1,000 military personnel from neighboring Niger, Chad is the second country in a week that has issued a host-nation directive to Washington to remove its deployed forces from an African country deemed integral to US counterterrorism operations in the region. It remains to be seen what impact will the US withdrawal from Niger and Chad have on the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region, where Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and other extremist groups remain at large.