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France hands over last base in Chad amid withdrawal
France hands over last base in Chad amid withdrawal
by AFP Staff Writers
N'Djamena (AFP) Jan 30, 2025

The French army has handed over its last base in Chad in a military ceremony in the capital N'Djamena, the general staffs of both countries announced Thursday.

The central African country in late November abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler, and French troops began leaving the country in late December.

Thursday's handover of the Kossei base marks the end of France's military presence in the African country "according to the wishes of the high authorities" in N'Djamena, a statement from the Chadian high command said.

"The Kossei camp was handed over today to the Chadian army," said Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the armed forces' general staff in Paris.

French troops withdrew from their Faya-Largeau base in the north of the country on December 26, and on January 11 pulled out of a second base at Abeche.

During the handover in Abeche, Chadian authorities declared that a January 31 deadline for the French withdrawal from the country was "non-negotiable".

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, in power since 2021, said the cooperation agreements with France had become "completely obsolete" in light of "the political and geostrategic realities of our time".

Soldiers and fighter aircraft from France have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country's independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

The largely desert country had been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the wake of military coups.

The military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.

At its height, France's Sahel contingent numbered more than 5,000 troops as part of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, which ended in November 2022.

French President Emmanuel Macron irked France's allies in a New Year's speech to diplomats, lamenting that African countries "forgot to say thank you" for France's decade-long deployment to fight an Islamist insurgency.

Senegal is also negotiating the withdrawal of French forces by the end of 2025. At the same time, Paris's military presence in the Ivory Coast and Gabon is being cut back, in line with a restructuring plan for France's presence in West and Central Africa.

A French base in Djibouti, which hosts 1,500 troops, is being developed as a launching pad for future missions in Africa following the forced withdrawal from the Sahel.

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