Agency Report –
France has concluded the withdrawal of its troops from Chad following the termination of a military agreement by the central African country, the armed forces of both countries announced on Thursday.
Until recently, around 1,000 French soldiers were stationed in Chad.
The last base in the capital, N’Djamena, has been handed over, marking the definitive end of the French military presence in Chad, according to the Chadian army’s general staff, ahead of an official ceremony planned for Friday.
All troops and military equipment have been relocated to France, the newspaper Le Monde quoted the French general staff as saying.
Since the independence of the former French colony in 1960, France had almost continuously stationed military aircraft in Chad, which were used not only for training purposes but also to defend against coup attempts.
At the end of November, Chad declared the agreement on military cooperation with France to be terminated.
It said that the friendly ties with France were not in question, but military bases were not necessary for that.
Chad, bordering Niger, is located in the heart of the Sahel zone at the southern edge of the Sahara desert amidst several states experiencing conflicts, and was considered the last remaining partner of the West in the fight against Islamist terrorists in the region.
