Chad is threatening to scrap an agreement with the US that allows American troops to operate in the country, signaling the US might lose even more of its military footprint in Africa after Niger ordered a US withdrawal.
According to CNN, Chad’s government sent a letter to the US earlier this month that said it could end the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The letter didn’t directly order the US military to leave, but US officials said that if the agreement were canceled, US forces would have to leave a French military base where they were stationed.
Reuters also reported on the letter and said Chad ordered the US to halt activity at the Adji Kossei Air Base because the US had failed to provide documents justifying their presence there. The US has a small military presence in Chad, with CNN putting the number of US troops in the country below 100.
In recent years, the French military has been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. France still maintains a presence in Chad, but there are growing calls for French forces to leave.
US officials told CNN that the letter could be a negotiating tactic to get a more favorable deal, but the expulsion of US forces would follow a pattern of Western countries losing their foothold in the region.
The Pentagon has reaffirmed that the US agreed to withdraw from Niger after initially ignoring the order to leave. “We can confirm the beginning of discussions between the US and Niger for the orderly withdrawal of US forces from the country,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Monday.
The US agreed to withdraw after a senior Air Force leader blew the whistle and said the US refusal to leave Niger put US troops in danger. The US has about 1,100 personnel in Niger and a major drone base, known as Air Base 201, that it will have to give up.
