Chad Refuses to Help U.S. with Libya Unity Government

In a rare appearance before foreign journalists, Chadian President Idriss Deby said that Chad would not help the U.S.-backed effort to install a unity government in Libya. For American U.N. envoy Samantha Powers this was a major blow not just to U.S.-Chad relations, but also the political stability of North Africa.

Deby  placed blame on Washington and other international powers for the destabilization in Libya by trying to install a functioning government. He added that, “the international community is imposing a unity government in Libya that will fail.”

Chad now finds itself as a major geopolitical target by multiple jihadist groups in the region. Boko Haram has already launched attacks on Chad from its base in Nigeria, which is southwest of Chad, and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and IS are both in war torn Libya to the north of Chad. To the east lies Sudan’s Darfur region; and to the south lies the Central African Republic, which is still recovering from years of ethnic conflict.

The U.N. and U.S. have failed to recognized the significant link between Boko Haram –IS merger which  lead to Boko Haram fighters going to Libya.  Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to the IS in March 2015, and renamed itself Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). General Donald Buldoc believes the two groups are sharing tactics, techniques, and procedures in coordinating attacks throughout the region. He noted how Boko Haram seems to be implementing the roadside bomb or IED more frequently in attacks.

Earlier this month Chadian military intercepted a large cache of weapons reported to have been supplied by IS in Libya and headed for Lake Chad, has been rumored to be a Boko Haram stronghold. This convinced the U.S. and U.N. that there is an expanding relationship between IS and ISWAP. Buldoc is also convinced that Lake Chad has become the “Ground Zero” for ISWAP operations.

Deby agreed that global consensus calling IS a “monster” that recruits Chadians just as with Europeans, Middle Easterners, and other Africans. However, he also noted that military action will not be enough to eradicate terrorism, and that the country needs to work with its youth to prevent Chad from becoming a recruitment ground.

Deby has ruled Chad since 1990 when he staged a coup in the aftermath of the “Toyota War” and has ruled with an iron first and just recently won his fifth term in office. He abolished term limits a decade ago. Ms. Powers noted about the government’s “crackdown on freedom of protest” and how all internet and text messaging services were suspended during the election. He also limits the amount of photographs journalists can take and where they can travel.  Deby also rejected claims that 60 security forces soldiers went missing because they openly voted against him.

The Obama administration is in a quandary now that Chad has refused to back the unity government in Libya.  The U.S. needs to figure out the size of the military that might be needed for Libya, and has committed to put $200 million into training North, Central, and West African armies. In addition, a military base will be implemented in Agadez, Niger that would allow Reaper surveillance aircraft to fly over Lake Chad.

President Obama once said it was dictatorship governments that lead to groups like IS and Boko Haram forming, but in turn, the Obama administration needs to improve relations with governments in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon who all have been accused of human rights abuses.