Chad receives final military base from France

N’DJAMENA – N’France transferred its final military base in Chad back to local control on Thursday. This action occurred a couple of months after the country terminated its defense cooperation agreement with Paris, its former colonial power in central Africa.

Chad has been a key counterterrorism force in the region and was one of the last countries in which France maintained a large military presence.

Over the past few years, French troops have been withdrawn from countries like Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, where they had been engaged in combat against Islamic militant groups alongside local forces. As a result, these nations have begun leaning towards Moscow, with Russian private military contractors now operating across the Sahel region, a vast area south of the Sahara desert.

The Chadian military officially took over the Sergent Adji Kossei air base in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, as confirmed in a statement released on Thursday.

France had already handed over its two other military bases — Faya in the north and Abeche in the east of the country — in late December and early January. The French army had around 1,000 personnel in Chad.

In announcing the end of the defense cooperation agreement with France last November, the Chadian government described the decision as a turning point for the country, which gained independence in 1960, and said that it would enable Chad to redefine its strategic partnerships in line with national priorities.

Chadian authorities have said that the end of the defense agreement in no way calls into question the countries’ historical ties and that it wants to maintain relations with France in other areas of common interest.

In December, Senegal and Ivory Coast also announced the departure of French troops from their countries, just as Paris was devising a new strategy that would sharply reduce its permanent troop presence in Africa.