G5 Sahel: the Chadian battalion has arrived at the Malian border
Chadian soldiers deployed as part of the Joint Military Force against Boko Haram, Nigeria (Illustrative image) REUTERS / Emmanuel Braun
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The joint force of the G5 Sahel, but also the Barkhane force, will therefore from today be able to benefit from significant military support in the face of armed terrorist groups.
This battalion was eagerly awaited in the central Sahel zone.
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The news was confirmed to RFI on Monday by the head of the G5 Sahel joint force, General Oumarou Namata, and it was with a smile in his voice that he indicated that
1,200 Chadian soldiers
had reached this goal. Monday morning the border between Burkina Faso and Mali and made the junction with 900 soldiers of the joint force and a deserted tactical group of the Barkhane force.
Excellent news, hammered General Namata.
It is true that this Chadian force has long played the Arlesian.
This 8th battalion of the joint force had been hoped for in the central zone for almost two years, but each time Chadian President Idriss Déby redirected his men against the terrorist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.
This Chadian force is now present in the Malian Gourma and this presence could be a game-changer on the ground, because 1,200 more soldiers is a significant effort.
Above all, the Chadians are very seasoned soldiers, bitter in combat.
They will now comb the region where the GSIM of the Malian Tuareg Iyad Ag Ghali is rife.
This operation is called Samata 3 and it will start in the next few days.
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