The French military presence in the Sahel is increasingly limited. A first departure from Niger in a land convoy under local escort would be heading towards a destination which could be Chad, according to several security sources. “The first departures are taking place, in accordance with planning and ongoing coordination,” AFP learned Tuesday from the French armies.
A plane with French equipment and a first group of priority soldiers (medical evacuations, in particular) also flew from Niamey on Monday, we learned from another military source.
The final destination of the French convoys has not been officially communicated. But according to a local source, the French soldiers who were in Tabarey-Barey passed through the town of Tillabéri, less than 100 km from Niamey, and were to converge on the capital. According to sources close to the matter, they should then head towards Chad, via more than 1,600 kilometers of roads and tracks to reach N’Djamena, where the command of the French Forces in the Sahel is located.
A perilous journey
This new withdrawal presents the French with a double logistical and security challenge. Travel options are limited, even dangerous, with the risk of anti-French demonstrations but also the presence of jihadists linked to Boko Haram and the West African subsidiary of IS (Iswap) in the Diffa area (east). of Chad).
Niger’s land borders have also been closed with Benin and Nigeria since the July 26 coup. And the Nigeriens prohibit the overflight of their territory by French, civil and military planes, unless exempted. However, the borders were reopened with Algeria, Libya, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad.
If the French containers are transported to Chad, the journey will be long, difficult and dangerous. They will then have to transit through the port of Douala, in Cameroon, at the end of another complicated convoy, according to a source close to the matter.