(3 Minutes Read)
France flew out the two Mirage fighter jets it had stationed in Chad, signalling the beginning of the withdrawal of its military forces from the former French colony in Central Africa that last month broke off its defense cooperation agreement with Paris.
The pair of Mirage 2000-D fighters took off after midday from a French base in the capital, N’Djamena. The Chadian military forces came to wish them farewell. Fighter jets flew to an unknown destination, a French air force base in Nancy in eastern France.
It is also reported that negotiations with Chadian authorities are continuing about how and when France might withdraw other members of its 1,000-strong force in Chad. It is also not clear how many of them will leave now or later.
The Chadian government described the decision to end the military arrangement with France as a historic turning point for the country that gained independence in 1960. Chad is trying to redefine its strategic partnerships in line with national priorities, said a military spokesperson without giving the exact reason for the French troop’s withdrawal.
Chad was one of the last countries in the region in which France maintained a large military presence, having been ousted in recent years from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso after years of fighting Islamic extremists alongside regional troops. Those countries have inched closer to Russia, which has mercenaries deployed across the Sahel, the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert.
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France has maintained about 1,000 troops in Chad. Chadian authorities didn’t specify when they have to leave and said the end of the defense agreement in no way calls into question the countries’ historical ties and that it wants to maintain relations in other areas of common interest.
