Space Travel News
AFRICA NEWS
France hands over last base in Chad amid withdrawal
France hands over last base in Chad amid withdrawal
by AFP Staff Writers
N'Djamena (AFP) Jan 30, 2025

The French army has handed over its last base in Chad in a military ceremony in the capital N'Djamena, the general staffs of both countries announced Thursday.

The central African country in late November abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler, and French troops began leaving the country in late December.

Thursday's handover of the Kossei base marks the end of France's military presence in the African country "according to the wishes of the high authorities" in N'Djamena, a statement from the Chadian high command said.

"The Kossei camp was handed over today to the Chadian army," said Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the armed forces' general staff in Paris.

French troops withdrew from their Faya-Largeau base in the north of the country on December 26, and on January 11 pulled out of a second base at Abeche.

During the handover in Abeche, Chadian authorities declared that a January 31 deadline for the French withdrawal from the country was "non-negotiable".

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, in power since 2021, said the cooperation agreements with France had become "completely obsolete" in light of "the political and geostrategic realities of our time".

Soldiers and fighter aircraft from France have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country's independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

The largely desert country had been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the wake of military coups.

The military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.

At its height, France's Sahel contingent numbered more than 5,000 troops as part of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, which ended in November 2022.

French President Emmanuel Macron irked France's allies in a New Year's speech to diplomats, lamenting that African countries "forgot to say thank you" for France's decade-long deployment to fight an Islamist insurgency.

Senegal is also negotiating the withdrawal of French forces by the end of 2025. At the same time, Paris's military presence in the Ivory Coast and Gabon is being cut back, in line with a restructuring plan for France's presence in West and Central Africa.

A French base in Djibouti, which hosts 1,500 troops, is being developed as a launching pad for future missions in Africa following the forced withdrawal from the Sahel.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
AFRICA NEWS
A Dream Deferred Why Is Traveling Across Africa So Hard for Africans
Johannesburg, South Africa (SPX) Jan 30, 2025
Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, carries his frustration as visibly as he carries his passport. To travel across the continent he calls home, he needs 35 visas - each a bureaucratic hurdle and a reminder of the barriers to free movement and trade in Africa. "As someone who wants to make Africa great, I have to apply for 35 different visas," Dangote lamented at a recent Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. His words echo the larger frustration of a continent grappling with the paradox of c ... read more

AFRICA NEWS
AFRICA NEWS
ORBIMARS: A proposed terminology for Mars orbital operations

Now That's Ingenuity: First Aircraft Measurement of Winds on Another Planet

NASA Sets Sights on Mars Terrain with Revolutionary Tire Tech

Mysterious Martian mounds formed by ancient water

AFRICA NEWS
UMD astronomer prepares for NASA mission to study mysterious lunar domes

Follow the water: Lunar exploration unveils ancient and cometary origins

NASA invests in studies for sustainable Lunar exploration

Blue Ghost enroute dispatched to Luna with help of Rocket Lab software

AFRICA NEWS
SwRI models suggest Pluto and Charon formed similarly to Earth and Moon

Citizen scientists help decipher Jupiter's cloud composition

Capture theory unveils how Pluto and Charon formed as a binary system

Texas A and M researchers illuminate the mysteries of icy ocean worlds

AFRICA NEWS
Extreme supersonic winds detected on distant exoplanet

Astronauts to Collect Microbial Samples from Space Station Exterior

Double the disks double the discovery new insights into planet formation in DF Tau

Bioactive compounds with industrial applications discovered in Andes bacteria

AFRICA NEWS
China's Hainan Commercial Launch Center expands with two new launch pads

New Shepard's 29th mission to simulate Lunar Gravity

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Caneveral

NASA's Artemis II rocket booster stacking process reaches new milestone

AFRICA NEWS
China launches additional satellites for Spacesail Constellation

Shenzhou XIX crew completes second spacewalk mission

Shenzhou XIX crew completes second spacewalk

China unveils logos for three space missions in 2025

AFRICA NEWS
Traces of ancient brine discovered on the asteroid Bennu contain minerals crucial to life

NASA's Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life's Ingredients

Bright Comet's Tail Dazzles in Images from ESA/NASA SOHO Spacecraft

Major component of NASA's NEO Surveyor enters deep space testing

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.