Chad deploys 1,200 troops to quell Sahel violence

Chadian forces head to flashpoint border zone among Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso as violence rages.

Chad plans to deploy 1,200 troops to combat armed groups in a violence-wracked Sahel border zone as France eyes a reduction of its military presence in the vast, volatile region. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and France are holding talks on the future of their military campaign against violent groups in the Sahel, which according to the UN have killed thousands and displaced more than two million. The Chadian soldiers will be deployed to the border zone between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno said on Twitter during the two-day regional summit on Monday.