French fighter jets strike convoy that crossed into Chad from Libya

French fighter jets struck targets in northern Chad on Sunday in support of local troops trying to repel a convoy of unidentified fighters that had crossed the border from Libya, France’s military said in a statement.

“A Mirage 2000 patrol of the French armed forces intervened jointly with the Chadian army in northern Chad to strike a column of 40 pickups of an armed group from Libya infiltrating deep into Chadian territory,” the armed forces said on Monday.

“This intervention at the request of Chadian authorities helped hinder this hostile advance and disperse the column.”

The warplanes are based near N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, as part of France’s Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism force in the Sahel.

“The column had been spotted at least 48 hours beforehand,” armed forces spokesman Patrik Steiger told AFP.

The Chadian airforce carried out strikes to try to repel it before asking the French to intervene, he said.