Tue 20 June 2023:
Footage of the Chad army intercepting French soldiers who entered the base on the Sudanese border without permission, seizing their weapons and equipment, gains attention.
The circulating video on social media shows Chadian soldiers lining up and disarming five French soldiers.
A high-ranking Chadian soldier explained the situation over the phone, stating, “I detained the French soldiers who entered the base without permission and without a mandate, and confiscated their weapons.”
The Chadian soldier asks the French soldiers’ translator if they have a duty authorization document but receives no response.
The #Chadian military has arrested about five #French soldiers illegally patrolling within the borders of #Chad.
Reports say that the #French soldiers were illegally patrolling near the #Sudanese border inside an armored vehicle, when they got intercepted and arrested by the.. pic.twitter.com/HpbVzuwoFo
— Mimi Mefo Info (@MimiMefoInfo) June 20, 2023
According to Chad security sources, the French soldiers entered the Adre military base on the Sudanese border via an armoured vehicle without proper authorization.
French army spokesman Pierre Gaudilliere confirms that the incident captured in the footage occurred during a land reconnaissance mission in the Abeche region of Chad, where there are no asphalt roads.
Gaudilliere said that the French soldiers had permission from Chad’s military and civil authorities for the mission, and their documents were checked during routine patrols.
However, some Twitter users view the presence of French soldiers on the Sudanese border, where fighting occurred, as “suspicious.” One user suggests that the detention of soldiers unearthed a “loss of power” for the French army in Africa.
France recently withdrew its troops from Mali following a political crisis. However, it relocated some military elements to Chad and Niger to maintain a presence in the Sahel region.
Anti-French sentiment has been growing in former colonies like Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad, posing challenges to France’s influence in the region.
-Anadolu Agency
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