After decades of presence, French fighter planes leave Chad

The departure of the Mirage follows the announcement by Chad, at the end of November, on the anniversary of its independence, to put an end to the security and defense agreements which had linked it to France since the end of colonization.

“Taking note of this decision (…) the French armies are withdrawing today the hunting capacity present in N’Djamena,” the general staff of the French armies declared in a press release on Tuesday.

The Chadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abderaman Koulamallah, for his part welcomed in a press release “the definitive departure of the Mirage fighter planes (….) first stage of the disengagement of the French military forces stationed in Chad”, before “the disengagement progressive ground forces in the coming weeks.

Two Mirage 2000Ds accompanied by a tanker plane took off shortly before 12:30 GMT from Kossei air base, a French source close to the matter told AFP. The third took off later.

“The modalities for the disengagement of other French military capabilities present in Chad are the subject of coordination with the Chadian authorities,” indicated the French general staff.

French combat planes have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since independence in 1960, used to train and train Chadian soldiers.

They also provided air support which on several occasions proved essential in stopping rebels seeking to seize power.

Read also: Chad breaks its defense cooperation agreements with France

Chad was a key link in the French military presence in Africa, constituting Paris’ last foothold in the Sahel after the forced withdrawals of its troops in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Neither Paris nor N’Djamena have communicated a precise timetable for the ongoing withdrawal process.

According to one of the French sources close to the matter, a first bilateral coordination meeting was held on Friday. “It’s not them who asked for us to leave so quickly, it’s us who want to keep control over the withdrawal,” she clarified.

Repeated interventions

Until then, Paris had deployed nearly 1,000 military personnel on three sites in Chad – the majority of which were on the Kossei camp.

A reduction was, however, planned as part of a reconfiguration of the French military presence in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Chad, with consultations in the countries concerned led by Emmanuel Macron’s personal envoy to Africa, Jean -Marie Bockel.

In the past, the French air force intervened in support of the Chadian army, engaged in Tibesti at the end of the 1960s, against pro-Libyan rebels at the end of the following decade and in the 1980s (operations Tacaud, Manta and Sparrowhawk).

Read also: Chad creates special commission to terminate military agreements with Paris

The Mirages also intervened in 2006 and 2019. This time, President Idriss Deby – father of the current head of state – requested air support from the French to help him stop a column of a fifty pick-ups of rebels from the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) on their way to the capital from Libya.

Paris also used the air detachment in Chad as a regional support point: the Mirages intervened in the Central African Republic during Operation Sangaris in the mid-2010s and especially in support of operations Serval then Barkhane in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

“At knives drawn”

N’Djamena’s decision to denounce the defense agreement with its old ally took Paris by surprise, while the influence of other powers – notably Russian – is becoming more and more present in the Sahel region.

“The Chadian people aspire to a future where national sovereignty is fully respected,” underlined the Chadian Minister of Foreign Affairs in his press release.

For his part, President Mahamat Deby Itno indicated that this rupture constituted “in no way a rejection of international cooperation nor a questioning of our diplomatic relations with France”.

If the Chadians have terminated the defense agreement, “they are realizing everything they are losing,” said one of the sources close to the matter, referring to “at loggerheads” relations. between supporters of withdrawal and others who were against it for reasons of national security.