The last contingents of France's Operation Barkhane are set to leave their bases in the Malian towns of Menaka and Gao by August (AI, 09/05/22), a prospect that has prompted Chad to work towards mitigating the resulting security vacuum. At the end of February, Mahamat Idriss Déby, who heads Chad's transitional military council, announced he intended to beef up the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) by adding 1,000 of his troops to the 1,400 already
In Focus | Africa, United Nations
Chad, Togo and Ivory Coast vie for blue helmet contracts
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By Maxime Paszkowiak
Amid Europe's gradual military withdrawal from Mali and as peacekeeping needs grow in the Central African Republic, three states are jostling for lucrative troop contribution contracts. But the UN's strict rules on equipment and training place tall hurdles in the way of their ambitions.
