Amdjarass (Chad) (AFP)

Prime Minister Jean Castex arrived in Chad on Thursday for a visit in support of Barkhane's French troops, preceded by a "fruitful" meeting with President Idriss Déby on the subjects of the fight against terrorism, in Amdjarass (east), a AFP noted.

"We had very fruitful, very in-depth discussions," said Mr. Castex, welcomed in the afternoon by the Chadian head of state in his stronghold near the Sudanese border.

"We have mentioned ways of strengthening this cooperation" between France and Chad "with a common objective which is the fight against terrorism, whether in the Sahel", against the Islamic State (IS) group or the nebula of 'Al-Qaida, "or in the Lake Chad area" against Boko Haram, the prime minister continued.

Among the hottest issues is the future of French military engagement in the Sahel, while three soldiers died Monday in Mali in the explosion of an artisanal mine.

Mr. Castex will pay tribute to them Thursday evening in a speech delivered at Camp Kosseï in N'Djaména, the command center of the Barkhane force.

He will then wake up with soldiers among the 800 stationed on this base, which is piloting operations throughout the Sahelo-Saharan strip.

On Friday, Mr. Castex will meet the contingents positioned in Faya-Largeau (north), an oasis in the desert facing Libya, then to Abéché (east), an important economic center and military lock not far from the Sudanese border. .

But the Prime Minister will in all likelihood provide little indication of the future physiognomy of Barkhane, currently composed of 5,100 men but having reached a new strategic turning point.

After his meeting with Mr. Déby, Mr. Castex simply spoke of "the prospects that there was in the upcoming holding of the N'Djaména summit", in January or February, bringing together France and its partners from the G5 Sahel (Mali , Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad) engaged in the fight against terrorism.

Mr. Déby "will go to France soon to discuss" with Emmanuel Macron "all of these perspectives," said Mr. Castex without further clarification.

The N'Djaména summit will mark the first anniversary of the Pau summit (January 2020) which refocused the objectives on the area known as the "three borders" (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso), with several tactical successes in the key, notably against the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).

But France, which refuses to speak of "disengagement", also relies on the rise of local forces and could in this sense recall the 600 reinforcements deployed this year.

There is still hope for the deployment of a new Chadian battalion in the three border area, promised a year ago but which is facing delays while the country is also facing terrorist attacks by Boko Haram in the region of Lake Chad.

© 2020 AFP