Date : 09 Dec 2024
The Chadian army, an essential pillar in the fight against terrorism in Africa
Thanks to its military strategy, its number of soldiers and its action on the ground, Chad has established itself as one of Africa's leading military powers. In its fight against terrorism, the country benefits from national and international partnerships.
Ranking of the Chadian national army
Defense and the army are central to Chad's political history. Despite criticisms such as a lack of cohesion within the Chadian National Army, Global Fire Power defines Chad, according to its 2024 ranking, as the leading military power in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, and consequently “the most powerful in the Central African sub-region”. On a continental scale, the country is one of the 20 most important defense powers, ranking 14th. On the international podium, Chad ranks 93rd.
These rankings testify to the effectiveness of Chad's defense system, the result of a strategy and experience acquired and developed over many years. Military spending is one of the country's biggest expenses. In 2020, it will amount to 3.1% of GDP, rising to 2.9% in 2022. The army comprises a land force, a gendarmerie and an air force.
Increasingly improved operations and strategic resources
The many internal crises that have rocked Chad (such as rebel attacks to overthrow the government) and terrorist actions have led to a desire to re-establish the security situation in the country, and thus to an improvement in combat techniques and operations. In 1990, the late Idriss Déby, father of the current Chadian president, submitted a proposal to reform the army, in order to put an end to preferential treatment, focus on national stability and make the army more professional. Despite the rebellions, the president remained in power until his death in 2021 and the appointment of his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, as transitional head of state, subsequently elected in 2024 without a coup d'état.
Thanks to a very high ratio of soldiers to inhabitants, substantial logistical equipment and the ability to deploy over several territories, the Chadian army has acquired significant strategic resources that have made it the central pivot and an international reference for security in the Sahel and the Lake Chad region in the fight against terrorism.
Numerous national and continental partnerships
Over the years, Chad has signed numerous agreements with various local and international partnerships. In 2014, it joined forces with Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso to form the G5 Sahel, a political arrangement aimed at ensuring security and defense in the Sahel, and particularly in the fight against the various armed and terrorist groups.
In 2015, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin and Niger re-established the Multinational Joint Task Force, originally founded in 1994 to combat crime and “big banditry”. Ongoing attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group in the Lake Chad region (a territory made up of several islands bordering Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon) triggered the response of the MMF. Initially headquartered in Nigeria, the group moved to N'Djamena. It has over 8,500 armed men.
Along with Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, Chad is also a member of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), set up in 1964 to manage the potential problems of the nations surrounding this region, a zone of recurrent attacks by the Boko Haram jihadists. The multiple acts of violence and murder perpetrated by the terrorists in this territory are causing mass population displacements.
Chad is also proving to be a welcoming land for the Sudanese population, fleeing an unprecedented security and humanitarian crisis and an intensified civil war since April 15, 2023.
Global support in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel
To curb this scourge, the Chadian army is strengthening its defense and security strategy and developing several bilateral partnerships on an international scale, with the USA and several European Union (EU) countries such as Hungary, with which Chad signed four agreements in September on agriculture, defense and security. This strengthened partnership is also aimed at combating terrorism and illegal immigration. A project to deploy 200 Hungarian soldiers to combat jihadism was discussed. The fight against terrorism also consolidates bilateral relations between Chad and China, as well as with Algeria and Morocco. The Chadian government is diversifying its allies by meeting with the Russian government, and conducting operations with the Sahel States Alliance, in order to optimize the effectiveness of the fight against terrorism. More recently, in early December, the Chadian government announced that it was breaking off its defense agreements with France. According to Agence France-Presse, “This is not a break with France, as in Niger or elsewhere”.
During the deadly floods that devastated several regions of Chad, killing hundreds of people, many EU countries released humanitarian aid funds. The United Arab Emirates, with which Chad enjoys strong bilateral relations, also contributed nearly $500 million.
Effective response and intervention against terrorist violence
The Chadian army's fight against terrorism is waged against various jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in West Africa, Al Qaeda and the Islamist sect Boko Haram. Their repeated attacks and violence against military personnel and civilians in countries bordering Chad have triggered formidable counter-attacks and repression operations. President Deby Itno, himself a trained soldier, did not hesitate to take up arms and go to the front with his men.
On the night of October 27/28, a Boko Haram attack on the island of Barkaram, near the border with Nigeria, left 40 soldiers dead and 37 wounded. A 3-day national mourning period was declared. Shortly afterwards, the Chadian army launched Operation Haskanite, which, according to the President, caused “many deaths and injuries”. He had promised to “hunt the terrorists down to their last base”. The government also appealed to the international community for support in the fight against terrorism.
The responsiveness of the Chadian army was also demonstrated during a Boko Haram attack on the islands of Lake Chad in March 2020, which killed 98 Chadian soldiers. Idriss Déby Senior, then President, launched Operation “Wrath of Boma” in retaliation, which, according to the Chadian army, resulted in the death of around a thousand terrorists and 58 Chadian soldiers, as well as the destruction of five terrorist bases established in Niger and Nigeria.
From March to June 2022, the FMM carried out Operation Lake Sanity 1, whose 75-day toll included 805 dead Boko Haram members, the release of over 100 hostages, the recovery of numerous vehicles, the destruction of bases where explosive devices had been built, and the liberation of 7 islands in Lake Chad. In 2024, during the “Lake Sanity 2” operation launched in April, several hundred Boko Haram members surrendered during the month of July.
The Chadian army's reactivity and response to terrorist attacks have proved their worth on numerous occasions. According to Chadian political scientist Evariste Ngarlem Toldé, the Haskanite retaliation operation “brought peace and confidence back to the population.”