France says withdrawal of troops from Chad must take place ‘in an orderly and safe manner’

Chad confirms the departure of a first contingent of 120 soldiers from N’Djamena

Dec. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The French Armed Forces assured this Friday that the process of withdrawal of its troops deployed in Chad, demanded by the transitional authorities of the African country, must take place “in an orderly and safe manner”, amid information about requests for N’Djamena to set a schedule that involves the departure of all of these forces in January 2025.

Sources from the General Staff of the French Army have indicated in statements given to Europa Press that this withdrawal schedule “is subject to the air resources” that Paris has, which “are in great demand”, especially in relation to the situation in Mayotte after the passage of cyclone ‘Chido’ and the deliveries of aid to the population of the archipelago, which “is the priority of the President of the Republic”, Emmanuel Macron.

Thus, they recalled that “the withdrawal of French troops has begun in accordance with the decision of the Chadian authorities.” “The first elements to withdraw were the fighters, on December 10, from the Kossei air base, in N’Djamena,” they stated, a fact confirmed that same day to Europa Press by sources from the French Ministry of Defense.

In this sense, sources from the General Staff of the French Army have emphasized that “the withdrawal will continue during the coming weeks in the facilities of Faya, Abéché and N’Djamena”, within the framework of what they describe as a “reconfiguration of the partnership with Chad” that started “two years ago.

These statements come hours after sources close to the French Government cited by Radio France Internationale revealed that Paris received a request from Chad on Thursday to complete the withdrawal of all its military by January 31, a point confirmed to said medium by sources. Chadian officers.

A senior French military official stated in statements to said media that this period would be insufficient for the withdrawal of soldiers and “a lot of material.” “That is impossible,” he said, while attributing that deadline to “pressure from the hard wing of the main Chadian power circle.”

However, these same sources confirmed that “negotiations are underway”, while official Chadian sources pointed out that a first withdrawal schedule, which contemplated it being completed in March, was ruled out as it was considered too long for this process. .

DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST CONTINGENT

In this context, the Chadian Ministry of Defense announced this Friday the departure from the country of a first contingent of 120 French soldiers, a process that continues following the decision announced by N’Djamena at the end of November to break the Defense agreement between both countries.

“Breakdown of military cooperation with France. 120 French soldiers take off aboard an Airbus A330 Phoenix MRTT, bound for France, this December 20,” he said in a message on his account on the social network Facebook, where He also shares a video of the soldiers’ boarding process.

Thus, he spoke of a “historic withdrawal” and stressed that “it represents a significant stage in French action in Africa.” “Tons of military equipment, carefully prepared and stored at the N’Djamena military airport, will be transported by an Antonov 124 over the next few days,” he added.

In this sense, he specified that “military vehicles arriving from the French bases of Faya Largeau, Abéché and N’Djamena will also be repatriated to France through the port of Douala”, in Cameroon, before stating that “it is possible that this will take place here in the month of January”.

“This withdrawal is part of a context of review of French military commitments on the African continent and will be closely monitored, both at the strategic level and in terms of regional cooperation,” the Chadian Ministry of Defense concluded in another statement published in your Facebook account.

BREAKDOWN OF THE AGREEMENT

The transitional president of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby, defended at the beginning of December the breaking of the Defense agreement with France, which he called “obsolete”, and explained that the measure only affects this pact “in its current configuration” aimed at “reorienting” ties with Paris, before highlighting that the termination was not adopted “lightly.”

“This agreement was signed at another time, with other actors and in a totally different context. It sought to respond to joint challenges in another national, regional and international context,” he argued, while adding that the pact “did not correspond to the security, geopolitics and strategy realities of today, as well as the objectives related to full sovereignty”.

For this reason, he insisted that the agreement “did not provide any real added value on the military level”, in which Chad “faces various and serious challenges, mainly terrorist attacks”, before pointing out that N’Djamena does not seek to “change one power for another”, in reference to the increase in Russia’s weight in the Sahel and the possibility of strengthening ties with Moscow.

The decision by N’Djamena, a key ally of France in the region and a country that hosts the largest French military base on the continent, came after the military junta of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger broke their military ties with Paris and will stage a rapprochement with Russia.

These three countries also announced their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, amid criticism from France and its Western allies and their skepticism about the role of Russia and the expansion of the branches of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Sahel.