France hands over last base in Chad but denies ending military ties
French forces have left Chad following 65 years of near-continuous presence in the country. Although Chad requested the withdrawal, the foreign ministry of France told RFI on January 31st it is “absolutely not the end” of cooperation on military matters between the two countries.
On January 30th, the French army handed the Adij Kossei base, its last military base in the country, over to Chadian authorities. President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno welcomed what he called the “definitive and complete departure” of French forces.
The handover signals the end of the French military presence in its former colony “according to the wishes of the high Chadian authorities” in capital N’Djaména. Déby previously said cooperation agreements with France were “completely obsolete” in light of “the political and geostrategic realities of our time”.
RFI
