Paris: France has handed over the first military base to Chad as part of the withdrawal of its armed forces from the African country, the Chadian Ministry of the Armed Forces, Veterans and War Victims said.
In December, the Chadian ministry said that the first contingent of 120 French soldiers had left Chad after the African country broke its military cooperation agreement with Paris.
“French forces hand over Faya base to the Chad National Army,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement noted that the base is located in Faya-Largeau in northern Chad.
The Chadian Foreign Ministry announced the termination of defense cooperation with France on November 28. Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in an interview with Le Monde that France should withdraw its military contingent from the country. The Jeune Afrique news magazine reported, citing sources, that the reason for terminating the agreement was a difference in the positions of the parties on the civil conflict in Sudan. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye also said that the presence of French military bases in his country was incompatible with national sovereignty, demanding the removal of French military bases.
In 2022, the French military, which had been present in Africa’s Sahel region since 2014 as part of the anti-terrorism Operation Barkhane, was forced to leave Mali. In 2023, France also withdrew its troops from Burkina Faso and Niger at the request of the countries’ coup-installed authorities.
