France has officially handed over its second military base in Chad as part of an ongoing withdrawal of its forces from the country, following an agreement with Chad’s authorities to complete the pullout by the end of January. On Saturday, around 100 French troops left the Abéché base, following the departure of equipment convoys the evening before.
This handover is part of France’s broader strategy to reduce its military presence in the Sahel, a region where its forces had been actively involved in counterterrorism operations. Chad had been one of France’s last military footholds in the region after the departure of French forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups in those countries.
The move reflects a shift in the region, where military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have increasingly sought closer ties with Russia, further isolating France. Chad’s own leadership, under General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, has also been exploring stronger economic relations with Moscow, although concrete agreements have yet to materialize.
The French military presence in Chad has long been a strategic element of France’s operations in Africa, but the decision to pull back signals a broader reorientation of France’s role in the region as it navigates changing political dynamics and shifting alliances.
| Picture by Anton Holoborodko (Антон Голобородько) on Wikipedia CCA SA 3.0 |
