France rushes to withdraw troops from Chad following new deadline

The situation caught France by surprise. It was preparing to start withdrawing its ground troops in Chad from next week.

Then on Friday, Paris received a communiqué from the authorities demanding the total withdrawal of all personnel from its base in N’Djamena by 31 December.

This is another setback for France. Chad was the last stronghold of French influence in the Sahel region of West Africa.

Paris was planning to begin repatriating its soldiers from Tuesday, although sources suggest negotiations were underway for a gradual withdrawal ending in March.

Now, Paris has had to speed things up, sending the first 120 men back to France on Friday afternoon.

The situation in the country has evolved rapidly.

In October, 40 Chadian soldiers were killed in an attack by Boko Haram insurgents on a military post in the Lake Chad region.

The government accused France in particular of refusing to provide information and assistance following the violent attack.

Paris’ failure to help did not go down well with N’Djamena which demanded the withdrawal of French soldiers from Chad, ending its defence pact.

This was followed by a series of demonstrations in towns across the country calling for the French army to leave.

The end of the Chad-France defence pact raises questions about who N’Djamena might turn to next and what this means for the region.