Chad planning to send 1,000 additional troops to Mali

Chadian soldiers make up nearly 1,400 of the United Nations' 13,000-troop peacekeeping forces in the north and central Mali, Reuters reported.

The upcoming deployment will reinforce those and other Chadian troops as former colonial ruler France scales back its 5,000-strong regional counter-terrorism mission known as Barkhane, Mali's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

"The deployment is part of a bilateral framework at the request of the Government of Chad for reinforcing its contingent in Northern Mali following the reconfiguration of the Barkhane force," the ministry said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron Friday canceled a Dec. 20-21 trip to Mali to visit French troops due to France's deteriorating health situation amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

RHM/PR