Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said in an end-of-year speech that French forces will withdraw from the West African nation in January, making it the latest country to weaken military ties with the former colonial power.
Mr. Ouattara said late on Tuesday (January 1, 2025) that Ivory Coast could be proud of its army “whose modernisation is now effective.
“It is in this context that we have decided on the concerted and organised withdrawal of French forces” from the country, he announced.
France has been preparing for years what it calls a “reorganisation” of military relations after the forced departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military-led governments hostile to the ex-colonial ruler have seized power in recent years.
In November, within hours of each other, Senegal and Chad also announced the departure of French soldiers from their soil.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said on Tuesday that all foreign military presence in the country would end from 2025.
The announcement, also made during a speech to mark the new year, was the first indication of a timeframe for the closure of foreign military bases in Senegal.
“I have instructed the Minister for the armed forces to propose a new doctrine for cooperation in defence and security, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal from 2025,” Mr. Faye said.
“All of Senegal’s friends will be treated like strategic partners, within the framework of open, diversified and uninhibited cooperation,” he said.
Faye, who was elected in March on a promise to deliver sovereignty and end dependence on foreign countries, told AFP in November that the presence of French military bases in Senegal was incompatible with his country’s sovereignty.
But he maintained that the act did not constitute a break with France, like those seen elsewhere in the region.
Hand-overs
Ouattara, who has not yet said whether he will seek a fourth term in elections slated for October, said in his speech that the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion at Port-Bouet in Abidjan — where French troops are currently stationed — “will be handed over” to Ivory Coast’s armed forces as of this month.
Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer which also has huge deposits of natural resources including oil, gas and gold, remains an important ally of France.
About 1,000 French soldiers were deployed to the 43rd BIMA to assist in particular with the fight against jihadists who regularly strike the Sahel region, as well as the north of some countries along the Gulf of Guinea.
Ouattara, who turned 83 on Wednesday, has been in office since 2010, also said in his year-end speech that the presidential election would be “peaceful” as well as “transparent and democratic”.
On December 26, France handed over its first military base as part of the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad.
Chad had been a key link in France’s military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after being forced to pull out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.
Published – January 01, 2025 09:53 pm IST
