France hands over first base in Chad amid withdrawal

France has handed over its first military base as part of the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad, the French and Chadian militaries said Thursday.

Chad’s military chief of staff said the base at Faya-Largeau in the north of the country had been handed over and that it would inform the public about progress concerning the withdrawal of French forces from bases in the eastern city of Abeche and the capital N’Djamena.

It said French troops had left in vehicles for the capital N’Djamena, 780 kilometers (480 miles) to the south, without providing a precise figure.

“The handover took place in accordance with the calendar and the conditions agreed with Chad,” the French military chief of staff said separately.

Chad last month abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial power and French troops began leaving the country last Friday, ten days after French warplanes left.

The move comes as Chad holds parliamentary and local elections on Sunday.

The French army had some 1,000 personnel in the country.

Chad’s military said an Antonov 124 took off Thursday with 70 tons of cargo as part of the withdrawal.

French authorities said military vehicles would leave by January and be repatriated via the Cameroonian port of Douala.

Chad 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 a series of military coups.

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

Chad’s leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has also sought closer ties with Moscow in recent months, but talks to strengthen economic cooperation have yet to bear concrete results.

French soldiers and fighter aircraft have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country’s independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

The planes provided air support that proved crucial on several occasions in stopping rebels moving to seize power.

The election of Deby in May brought an end to a three-year political transition triggered by his father’s death in clashes with rebels in 2021.

Longtime ruler Idriss Deby Itno had received support from the French army to quell rebel offensives in 2008 and 2019.