President Idriss Deby of Chad has said that his country has started pulling out its forces who were on combat mission in Mali.

This comes after 3 Chadians soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on Friday by militants in the north of the country.

Chad has lost 30 out of the 2,000 soldiers since they joined French Forces in the combat mission against militants who seized Mali in January this year.

President Debby reportedly told French media that the Chadians soldiers lack the skills and tactics to battle the militants who are now counter-attacking both African Union and French forces.

“The Chadian army does not have the skills to fight a shadowy, guerrilla-style war that is taking place in northern Mali,” he said.

Soldiers from Chad, France and other African countries have ousted militants from northern Mali’s towns but there is still a pocket of resistance from the militants.

“We have already withdrawn a mechanized battalion, and the rest will follow in subsequent days very soon”, President Debby added.

Another unconfirmed report from a French media source quoted President Debby as saying that his forces have completed their mission in Mali.

But President Debby admitted that Chad would contribute to a proposed 11,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali.

Many political analysts in Mali believe President Debby fears that he will loose more of his troops in Mali and that necessitated his withdrawal of the troops.

France has also started to withdraw some of its 4,000 soldiers and hopes to have just 1,000 in the country by the end of the year.

France led the intervention in January, saying the al-Qaeda-linked militants were threatened to march on the capital and use it to destabilize other West African nations.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa news

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