The United States will withdraw some troops from Chad, the Pentagon has said, days after Washington agreed to move forces out of neighboring Niger.
The US has approximately 100 troops stationed in Chad as part of its strategy to combat extremism in West Africa.
“USAFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some US military forces from Chad, a portion of which were already scheduled to depart,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told a news conference on Thursday, referring to the US Africa Command unit.
“This is a temporary step as part of a ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6 presidential election.”
Chad’s air force chief had ordered the US military this month to halt activities at an air base near the capital N’Djamena, according to a letter sent to the transitional government .
He said he had asked the US military to provide documents “justifying its presence at the Adji Kossei Air Base” but had not received any.
US troops at the the Adji Kossei military base train anti-terrorism special forces and an elite unit of the Chadian army to combat the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram.
Neighboring Niger is also a lynchpin in the US and French strategy to combat jihadists in the region.
