The Hungarian Parliament has voted to send a military mission to Chad in the spring of 2024, joining the humanitarian and medical mission already underway. The purpose of the military mission is to help stabilize the African country, curb illegal migration towards Europe, and fight terrorism.
Hungary's position on illegal migration is consistent with the administration in Budapest taking the view that help should go where there is trouble, and trouble should not be imported into Hungary. This is the principle on which Hungary has launched the Hungary Helps Program, which also provides humanitarian assistance to several other countries.
Hungary is committed to protecting Europe, and since 2015, it has been using its own resources to build a border fence and protect the Serbian-Hungarian border against illegal migration. Hungary also regularly sends police officers to protect the Macedonian border as more and more migrants attempt to enter the EU from the Balkan migration route, using increasingly violent methods.
According to a recent report by Hungarian intelligence services, many of the migrants gathering at the Hungarian-Serbian border are skilled migrants linked to terrorist organizations, who often attack Hungarian police officers protecting the border with violent intent and are often armed with firearms.
Hungary is ready to make further contributions to curb the migration that is plaguing Europe. As a NATO member, Hungary is devoting significant resources to the development of the Hungarian Defense Forces, and trained Hungarian soldiers have already participated in numerous international counter-terrorism missions.
The military mission in Chad is planned to have a maximum of 200 personnel and will support both the stabilization of the Sahel region and the control of illegal migration through the fight against terrorism.