U.S. donates Toyota Land Cruisers, communication equipment to Chad army.

The United States has delivered another batch of vehicles to Chad’s army as an assistance to fight Islamist extremists in the region.

The US Army contracted Bukkehave as part of its expanded regional counter-terrorism programme for East, West and North Africa (Picture source: U.S. embassy)

On 30 September, the US Embassy in Chad announced that equipment worth $15 million had been delivered to Chad’s army, including 80 Toyota Land Cruisers, communications equipment and ‘support materials’, defenceWeb reports.

The equipment was handed over to the G5 Sahel security forces in Chad by the US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Jessica Davis Ba. The donation will help Chadian military and police forces combat terrorism and insecurity in the region, the US Embassy said. “This assistance will strengthen Chad’s ability to deploy highly mobile security forces to respond to evolving threats.”

The United States already delivered equipment to Chad this year: on 11 July, it handed over 16 trucks, 900 medical kits and a newly constructed warehouse worth nearly $6 million.

In November 2018 the United States donated six new boats, six pickup trucks, spares and training worth $3 million to improve security on Lake Chad and help fight violent extremist organisations. The package formed part of the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), the US government’s multi-year, multi-sectoral initiative aimed at strengthening the long-term capacity of partners in North and West Africa to destabilize and marginalize terrorist organizations and networks in the region.

Other recent donations include 60 Toyota light armoured vehicles in December 2016, 86 vehicles in February 2017 for the Chadian Special Forces (72 Toyota Land Cruisers and 14 Mercedes Atego trucks to patrol the borders, especially with Libya), and two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft and maintenance hangars, which were handed over in May 2018. The aircraft and hangars were worth $43 million.

The United States has also provided training to Chad’s military, including in combat medicine and explosive ordnance disposal and held the 2017 edition of the Flintlock exercise in Chad. Other G5 Sahel nations have received equipment from the United States, such as Mauritania, which took delivery of 155 vehicles (mostly Land Cruisers) from July this year. The European Union also supports the counter-terrorism force and in July pledged to give another $155 million to the G5 Sahel Joint Force, including its police component. The Force comprises Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

In 2017, five countries – Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali and Mauritania – backed by France, launched the G5 Sahel task force to combat the insurgents. The initiative is perennially underfunded.