France hands over second army base in Chad ahead of 31 January deadline

RFI
·1-min read
The last batch of French soldiers leaves the Abéché military base in Chad as part of a withdrawal agreement, 11 January 2025.

France on Saturday handed over its second army base in Chad as part of an agreement with the country's authorities to withdraw its military forces by the end of January.

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.

"Today... marks the handover of the Abéché base," Defence Minister Issaka Malloua Djamouss said during an official ceremony on Saturday.

He called it a key step "leading to the final and total withdrawal of this army in our country".

Around 100 troops left the Abéché base on Saturday, after equipment convoys departed Friday evening.

ADVERTISEMENT

The French army had around 1,000 personnel in Chad.

Djamouss added that the 31 January deadline for France to remove forces for good was "imperative", "irreversible" and "non-negotiable".

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

Mid-December, the jets were the first to go, followed by a contingent of 120 soldiers and the handover of the Faya base in northern Chad.

Chad orders French troops to leave within six weeks as relations sour

(with AFP)


Read more on RFI English

Read also:
Senegal and Chad rebuke Macron over 'inaccurate' French troop withdrawal claims
At least 19 die in Chad during gunfight at presidential palace
French hands over first military base as part of withdrawal from Chad

Latest stories

  • North Korea's suicide soldiers pose new challenge for Ukraine in war with Russia

    After a battle in Russia's snowy western region of Kursk this week, Ukrainian special forces scoured the bodies of more than a dozen slain North Korean enemy soldiers. But it is among mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine. "Self-detonation and suicides: that's the reality about North Korea," said Kim, a 32-year-old former North Korean soldier who defected to the South in 2022, requesting he only be identified by his surname due to fears of reprisals against his family left in the North.

  • Coca-Cola’s Donald Trump Honor Leaves Critics Bubbling With Outrage

    Anger fizzed over the corporation's tribute to the president-elect.

  • Paul Krugman Issues Dire Warning On How ‘A Lot’ Of Trump Voters Will Be ‘Brutally Scammed’

    The economist also slammed one of the president-elect’s policies as “terrible.”

  • Fox News Sends Reporter to Find MAGA in Greenland and It Majorly Backfires

    A Fox News reporter dispatched to Greenland’s capital city found that “most” of the residents it spoke to were not so keen on Donald Trump. The network aired a live report Tuesday afternoon from Nuuk, where its London-based correspondent Alex Hogan made the revelation while standing outside in the frigid weather. Hogan tracked down one MAGA superfan—who has also made his rounds in interviews with Danish media—who showed off his Trump merch like a t-shirt and pins. That man, Jørgen Boassen, calle

  • Canadian Leader Fires Shot at Trump With Plan to Tariff the U.S. Right Back

    The leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party became the latest Canadian elected official to speak out against President-elect Donald Trump’s continued tariff threats, calling on his counterparts running in this year’s upcoming federal election to support countermeasures against the U.S. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the left-leaning minority party, called on Canadian leaders to impose “retaliatory tariffs” on U.S. imports and cut off exports of crucial minerals like cobalt and lithium. “In order t

  • Lying Trump Took His Own Supporters for Fools: Jack Smith

    Special Counsel Jack Smith found that Donald Trump’s team took his own MAGA faithful for easily manipulated fools when he and several co-conspirators carried out an “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the 2020 election. Smith detailed his conclusion in a report released Tuesday, which explains his decision to indict Trump on four counts for plotting to obstruct the certification of the presidential race he lost to Joe Biden. Smith wrote that Trump’s team “deceived” a group of MAGA hardli

  • RFK Jr. Admits He Didn’t Come Clean on Anti-Vax Fortune

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars he made from his anti-vax crusade, Donald Trump’s transition team has admitted to the Daily Beast. Trump’s pick for health secretary previously said his career as the founder, chairman, and general counsel of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense was “unpaid” and “the opposite of a profit motive.” In personal financial disclosure forms required for all presidential candidates, Kennedy initially reported that he had earne

  • Watch live: Russian foreign minister holds news conference as Moscow reports Ukrainian strikes

    Watch live as Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov holds a news conference on Tuesday, 14 January, as Moscow officials and media report that multiple regions in the country came under a major drone and ballistic missile attack overnight. According to the popular Shot Telegram channel, Russia downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones and five US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles. Russia's aviation watchdog said flight restrictions were imposed in the southern Russian cities of Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Nizhnekamsk.

  • Trump Has Middle-Of-The-Night Meltdown In Wild Rant Aimed At ‘Moron’ TV Host

    The president-elect said he had an “obligation” to attack one specific late night host.

  • Stephen Colbert Gives ‘Jerk’ Trump An Awkward Reality Check On His Latest Obsession

    The “Late Show” host said one of the president-elect’s big plans has a glaring flaw.

  • No invite for pre-inaugural tour of the VP home for Vance family, sources say

    There will be no pre-inaugural tour of the vice president’s residence for the incoming Vance family, two sources familiar with JD Vance’s plans told CNN, who noted he has not received an invitation to the residence from its current occupant, Vice President Kamala Harris.

  • Why India is reaching out to the Taliban now

    Last week, India’s top diplomat met a senior Taliban minister, the highest-level engagement since Kabul's fall.

  • ‘11th Hour Conversion’: Female Senators Line Up to Savage Hegseth’s ‘Brutal’ Take on Women in Combat

    Pete Hegseth was grilled during his Senate confirmation hearing over his comments about women not belonging in certain battlefield roles. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen sarcastically thanked the defense secretary hopeful for his “11th-hour conversion” after he told the Democrat he would be “honored” to serve alongside her and other women in the military. Shaheen said Hegseth’s previous comments against women serving were “surprising” from someone who hopes to lead the U.S. Military and the hu

  • Michelle Obama Will Not Attend Trump's Inauguration, And The Internet Is Here For It

    "Michelle Obama is all of us."

  • These Jokes About A Republican Senator's Misspelled Sign Are Very Funny

    "People so concerned about DEIs they forget about their ABCs."

  • Hamas 'accepts draft Gaza ceasefire agreement' and release of some Israeli hostages

    Hamas has reportedly accepted a draft ceasefire agreement and the release of dozens of hostages, with an Israeli official saying the details are being finalised. Hamas said negotiations had reached their "final stage" and it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal. "I believe we will get a ceasefire," US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

  • Ukraine-Russia war live: Moscow plotted terror attacks on airlines around world, Poland PM Tusk claims

    The Kremlin has dismissed previous Western claims that Russia sponsored acts of sabotage and attacks in Europe

  • California governor Newsom accuses Musk of ‘encouraging looting’ with misleading LA fires claim

    Factually incorrect posts shared by Elon Musk on his social media site claim California governor Gavin Newsom decriminalised looting

  • Biden and Trump Battle Over Credit for Middle East Deal

    Joe Biden was battling with Donald Trump over who gets the credit for the Middle East hostage release and ceasefire deal after the president’s Hail Mary pass to save his legacy was snatched at the end line. “Is that a joke?” Biden snapped at a reporter after being asked if his successor was partly responsible for the breakthrough. The veil of civility between the White House rivals in recent days was stripped to reveal a frantic race to take all the plaudits for the historic agreement.

  • Ivanka Trump reveals why she won’t return to the White House

    As her father prepares to take up the presidency for a second time next week, Ivanka Trump revealed that she “hates politics” and has no intention of returning to work at the White House. The 43-year-old former presidential adviser shared the multiple reasons she decided to sit this term out while appearing on Tuesday’s episode of the “Him & Her” podcast. After Donald Trump lost the 2020 ...