Tensions between France and its former colonies in West Africa continue. Emmanuel Macron’s latest surprise came this Tuesday when a French military medic shot and killed a Chadian soldier amid an argument that ended in drama. Chad, neighboring country Nigeris today the last Sahel ready to cooperate with France in the fight against terrorism with the support of the military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, making recent events a dangerous step towards France’s abyss in Africa.
The Chadian attacked first. General Ali Maïde Kebir, governor of the Borkou region, confirmed in a phone call to AFP that “a Chadian soldier who was not in normal condition went to the French army base to be healed, took a scalpel and cut a French soldiers wounded.” Medicine. The nurse used his firearm and killed him. The events took place at the Faya-Largeau military base, a small regional capital in the north of the country where France has deployed 40 troops for almost four decades.. A joint investigation by the French and Chadian army has already begun to clarify the incident: it is currently known that the nurse suffered three scalpel stab wounds, one in the neck, another in the chest and a third in the head, before he could use his weapon.
The reactions of the local population to what happened were overwhelming. Faya residents rallied around the French base from the moment the news broke, and protests continued throughout the day. There was a moment when the locals attempted to get inside the enclosure, but they were quickly repelled and eventually dispersed by nightfall. Warning shots could be heard from inside the base throughout the day.
A curfew was imposed in Faya to keep the population under control. Equally worrying is the reaction that could occur among some members of the Chadian security forces. After what happened in Niger, and given the precarious position in power of President Mahamat Deby, son of the late President Idriss Deby, there is little need for caution in the last French stronghold in the Sahel, his private acre. According to initial information, an unknown number of Chadian soldiers also took part in the protests on Tuesday, but there were no unfortunate incidents in this regard.
Delicate situation in Chad
That’s something to remember Idriss Deby has ruled Chad since he provoked a self-coup in 2021 This would allow him to continue the government his father started in 1990. His French-backed interim government, set to last 18 months, was extended indefinitely over time, with support from Paris, despite fierce protests lasting for days. The deadliest occurred in October 2022. when 60 people died and 300 were injured after demonstrating against the military’s perpetual takeover of power. Moreover, the insurgent groups in southern Chad (responsible for the death of Deby Sr.) resumed armed struggle less than a month ago and could bring the young autocrat into new difficulties.
Due to the constant influx of refugees from the ongoing war in Sudan, Chad is also in a difficult situation on its eastern border. In the last two months alone, 115,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed the border, UN data confirms, while the country previously supported 7 million people (a third of its population) in need of humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing drought and lack of food. Adding to the humanitarian crisis are the links between the RSF’s Sudanese paramilitaries and population centers in eastern Chad, with some analysts even noting that the war in Sudan could upset the balance of power in Chad.
Chad acted this summer as an intermediary between ECOWAS and the Nigerian coup plotters, while refusing to support a possible military intervention. Always with two goals in mind: to prevent what happened in the neighboring countries of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso from happening in N’Djamena; and serve as a haven for the increasingly scarce French troops in Africa. It also belongs to the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC).a regional organization made up of eleven nations and recently Gabon suspended on the occasion of the August 30 coup d’état.