France withdraws from first army base in Chad
France has handed over a military base to Chad as it withdraws troops from the Central African country, where the government has terminated its defense agreement with Paris, citing ineffectiveness.
The Chadian Army announced on Thursday that French forces had left in vehicles for the capital, N’Djamena, following their exit from the base at Faya-Largeau in the country’s north. According to a news summary on the Chadian Presidency website, an Antonov 124 aircraft left N’Djamena on the same day, carrying more than 70 tons of cargo bound for France.
Withdrawals are also expected from camps in the eastern city of Abeche and the capital, the landlocked nation’s chief of military staff said in a statement cited by local outlet Alwihda Info.
“The Army General Staff will keep the public informed about future disengagements from the Abeche and N’Djamena bases,” the army said.
“Around thirty soldiers were stationed in Faya,” the French Army General Staff also reportedly said, adding that the handover “will be followed by that of Abeche, then N’Djamena in the coming weeks.”
Paris had about 1,000 soldiers in Chad, which was the former colonial power’s last military ally in the Sahel after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger expelled French troops for allegedly failing to combat a deadly jihadist insurgency in the region. The three West African states have sought alternative alliances, including forging closer security ties with Russia.
In November, Chad, also a former French colony that gained independence in 1960, followed the lead of its Sahel neighbors and terminated its military cooperation agreement with France.
Earlier this month, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno told reporters that the agreement, which had sought to strengthen security ties between his country and Paris, had become “completely obsolete.”
He said the treaty no longer reflected Chad’s security, geopolitical, and current strategic realities or the government’s legitimate expectations for the “full expression” of the country’s sovereignty.
On Thursday, the government reportedly emphasized its commitment to strengthening Chad’s “strategic independence and sovereignty” while maintaining a preference for international partnerships based on mutual respect and reciprocal interests.
