The French Defence Ministry said on Friday that it has begun the withdrawal of its soldiers from Chad after N’djamena last month abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial power.
The ministry said in a statement on Facebook that a contingent of 120 soldiers had already left the African country and returned to France, which marked 10 days after French fighter aircraft left the Sahel country.
“At midday, 120 French soldiers took off from the military airport of N’Djamena on board an Airbus A330 Phoenix MRTT, headed for France.
“The departure on Friday of French soldiers took place in the presence of Chadian military authorities, which testifies to the intensity of cooperation between the two countries in the field of security,” the ministry said in a statement on Facebook.
Chad, which had been a key link in France’s military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region, had on November 28, 2024, announced its decision to end a long-standing defence accord with Paris.
The French had already been forced out of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in the wake of a series of military coups.
The French army, which had some 1,000 personnel in the country, did not immediately comment on the announcement.
It was reported that three Sahelian nations Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger led by military juntas, will officially withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, on January 29, 2025.
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