N’Djamena, TCD – Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Friday welcomed the “complete and final departure” of French forces stationed in Chad during a ceremony marking this “historic” withdrawal, which also signifies the end of France’s military presence in the Sahel.

A closed-door military ceremony on Thursday had already formalized the handover of the last French base in Chad and the Sahel, the Sergeant-Major Adji Kossei base, following a swift disengagement after the surprise breakdown of the military cooperation agreement between France and Chad at the end of November.

“We are not severing our relationship with France, but we are putting an end to the military dimension of this cooperation,” said the president, addressing Chadian military personnel and the diplomatic corps, in front of the base where only the Chadian flag now flies.

This departure is part of France’s broader policy of military disengagement from Africa and marks the end of a long history dating back to the arrival of French colonial troops in Chad in 1900, with a continued military presence after decolonization in 1963.

According to Marshal Deby, it is an “exceptional” event.

“We must build an army that is even stronger, better equipped,” he added, emphasizing the need to “forge new alliances based on mutual respect, while maintaining our focus on independence and sovereignty.”

Combat personnel and equipment have been transferred to France, with only containers remaining in Chad, which will be transported by land and sea by private contractors, according to French military officials. The last French plane left the Kossei base on Thursday afternoon at 3:50 PM, according to Chadian authorities.

Among French military ranks, there is a mention of the “special bond” with Chad, recalling that “with no other country in Africa have we fought side by side as much.”

This vast, desert, and landlocked country was the last French military foothold in the Sahel, where Paris had stationed more than 5,000 troops for the anti-jihadist Barkhane operation, which ended in November 2022.

Since then, four other former French colonies—Niger, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Burkina Faso—have called for the withdrawal of French troops from their territories after years of military presence and have turned to Moscow for support.

Senegal is also negotiating the departure of French troops by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, French personnel are being reduced in Ivory Coast and Gabon, in line with a restructuring plan for France’s military presence in West and Central Africa.

The French base in Djibouti, which hosts 1,500 personnel, is not affected by this drawdown, as Paris intends to maintain it as a “projection point” for “missions” in Africa after the forced withdrawal of its forces from the Sahel.