On April 18th, 2024, initial reports indicated that Chadian defense officials had unilaterally delivered instructions and demands on U.S. military forces in Chad. The initial salvo of letters criticizes the U.S. military presence in Chad and threatened to cancel the Status of Forces Agreement in their country.
CNN reported last night that reports indicated that Chadian military officials were sending these demands outside of diplomatic channels via letters through the French embassy.
The Letter
This morning, a copy of one of the letters sent to the French embassy in Chad circulated on X, outlining how Chadian Air Corps General Idriss Amine Ahmed is demanding the U.S. provides the written agreement and justification that U.S. forces should be on Adji Kossei airbase in N’Djamena, Chad.
#Tchad Alerte ? : Suspension des activités militaires américaines à la Base Aérienne Adji Kosseï de Ndjamena
Un air de tension diplomatique plane dans les relations entre les Etats-Unis et la dictature tchadienne.Une note du Général Amine Idriss, chef d'État-major de l'armée,… pic.twitter.com/B4USTlXGkP
— Tchad One (@TchadOne) April 19, 2024
It is worth noting that freshly minted United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) commander, General Langley visited Chad on January 9-10, 2024, and met with General Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces for Chad, and other military leaders. It is not clear that General Langley met with General Ahmed who penned this letter.
U.S. Relies on Chad for Sahel CT Mission
U.S. troops at this air base are most likely associated with the two C-208B light reconnaissance aircraft that the U.S. turned over to the Chadian military in 2018.
This development is key considering neighboring Niger announced in March 2024 that it was terminating its military cooperation with the United States, requiring 1,000 U.S. troops to immediately leave the country. This situation exploded into the public view in the last 48 hours after a whistleblower from the U.S. State Department told lawmakers (Florida Rep. Gaetz) that the Biden Administration was purposely withholding intelligence from DoD personnel and obscuring the dire bi-lateral relationship from the public while U.S. troops are still in country.
If the U.S. loses access, basing, and overhead (ABH) in both Niger and Chad, the ability to project power in the Sahel amidst the ongoing Counter-Terrorism crisis. If U.S. troops are forced to rely solely on Nigeria, Somalia, and Kenya, then ISR capabilities will be significantly degraded.
These developments come in the face of increased Russian pressure in the Sahel that began with Wagner as far back as the early-2010s. Since the dissolution of unattributed Russian activities through Wagner, the Russian government has taken a much more hands-on approach through follow on private military companies (PMC) deployments and true Russian military deployments.
