On July 30th, 2023, the official news agency of the United Arab Emirates, WAM, announced that the UAE had sent military vehicles and other security equipment to Chad to support anti-terrorism efforts and border protection. The shipment included at least six armored vehicles of the MCAV-20 Cladius model, manufactured by the Emirati company NIMR, with the Chadian and Emirati flags visible on two of these vehicles.
In the aftermath of the recent coup d’état in Niger on July 26, 2023, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani resulting in the removal of the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, Chad’s Minister of Defense, Daoud Yaya Brahim, affirmed that the armored vehicles supplied by the UAE would enhance the country’s defense capabilities in the fight against terrorism, given the current geopolitical context.
The UAE, known for its rapidly expanding defense industry, has established a significant military cooperation partnership with Chad, making Chad the third major client of the UAE in the region, alongside the Republican Guard of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sudanese army.