Hungary seeks foothold in restive Sahel as West pulls out

Hungary has bucked a trend by Western nations to withdraw from the Sahel region of Africa where Russia has increased its presence, and plans to deploy soldiers to Chad, whose leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno is in Budapest for talks.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Deby Itno over the weekend and further talks were underway on Monday, though no details have been released.

Chad is key for helping to stem irregular migration, according to Hungary's nationalist premier, who aims to establish a partnership with the central African country.

One of the world's poorest nations, it is also considered vital in the fight to stop the march of jihadists through the Sahel region.

Over the past year, Budapest has rapidly developed ties with N'Djamena, opening a humanitarian aid centre and diplomatic mission in the capital, as well as signing agreements on agriculture and education.

In an unprecedented move, the government now plans a 200-member military mission to train local forces and fight terrorism as part of efforts to stabilise Chad.

- 'Test' mission -

Hungary does not have a strong historical presence in Africa, but Orban has championed a foreign policy of opening up to the East and South, seeking closer ties with China, Russia and African countries.

Budapest has for years also sought a bigger military role in the Sahel to train its own defence forces, said Viktor Marsai, director of the Migration Research Institute.

Since the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan ended in 2021, there have been "no more operations where Hungarian soldiers could gain combat experience with a reasonable level of risk", he told AFP.

Hungary announced it would join the French-led Takuba task force of EU special forces in Mali, but the anti-terror force ceased operations in 2022.

Its plans in neighbouring Niger were also thwarted by a coup in July last year.

A few months later, Hungarian lawmakers approved a new proposal to deploy 200 soldiers to Chad on a rotational basis.

According to Marsai, Hungary has traditionally been "part of military coalitions" when deployed abroad, but this time it would need to "provide everything by itself".

The planned mission represents a "major leap" compared to past operations, Marsai said, adding it would serve as "a test, whether the army is up to the task".

- Russian mercenaries -

Landlocked Chad is the last Sahel country to host French soldiers after Paris was forced to pull out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years.

But sources told AFP in June that Paris was planning to cut back the number of its military personnel to around 300 in the country of 18 million inhabitants.

Several countries in the region have turned to Russia and its Wagner mercenary group for support since military leaders seized power in recent years.

Experts and opposition politicians in Hungary have voiced fears that Budapest -- which remains close to the Kremlin -- might act on Russia's behalf in the Sahel.

Questioned about the mission, Hungary's government denied that it "represents Russian or any other foreign interests in the Sahel".

- Opposition concerns -

Despite its disagreements with Budapest, the European Union has "welcomed" Hungary's initiative in Chad.

Amid the challenges the country faces domestically and in the region, "it is important for more international partners to work with Chad," an EU spokesperson told AFP.

But at home, the military mission has drawn criticism, with opposition parties branding the deployment "dangerous and wasteful".

The Hungarian government has also faced nepotism accusations after French newspaper Le Monde and Hungarian investigative site Direkt36 reported that the premier's only son Gaspar Orban had discreetly participated in official negotiations.

Budapest dismissed the criticism, pointing to Gaspar Orban's "language skills" and expertise as a captain in the Hungarian army. He has since been appointed as a "liaison officer to help prepare the mission in Chad".

A retired senior Hungarian army officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, expressed doubts about the mission, saying that 200 soldiers were unlikely to make a difference in such a large country.

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