Chad: US aircraft tracking Boko Haram in Chad

N'DJAMENA, Chad

The U.S. has been operating flights across the trans-Saharan region as part of its military support program to help Chad fight Boko Haram.

U.S. ambassador to Chad, James Knight, confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Monday that military aircraft were being deployed in the region where Boko Haram is active in the Lake Chad Basin area.

Knight said the U.S. deployed military aircraft across the trans-Saharan region "late 2014, replacing the U.S. drones that were involved in investigative and intelligence operations.

“Our aircraft are engaged in reconnaissance flights to monitor and also resupply Chadian ground troops engaged in the fight against the Nigerian armed group with food, fuel and other equipment,” Knight said.

The aircraft have crisscrossed the trans-Saharan sky over Chad, Libya, Niger, Algeria and Mali since late 2014. These aircraft have replaced U.S. drones for "stronger and more effective support," he added.

The statement comes less than a month after the U.S. announced the deployment of 300 soldiers in Cameroon for technical and logistical assistance in the fight against Boko Haram.

“Leading the fight against terrorism for years, the U.S. has been fighting alongside many countries that are also engaged in the fight against terrorism,” Knight told Anadolu Agency.

For some years now Chad has been part of a U.S. support program within the framework of the fight against terrorism. This support increased in 2015, according to a document from the U.S. embassy in Chad entitled Assistance to Chad's Security.

The support was $14 million in 2005, about $11 million between 2011 and 2014 [and] was allocated for training and equipping the Chadian army.

According to the document, the funding program increased to $27 million in 2015 for urgent security needs.

Chad is part of a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) that was created by Lake Chad Basin countries – Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin – aimed at eradicating the militant group.

The MNJTF is backed by the African Union and headquartered in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.