Abidjan, Jan. 1, ’25 (TNZ) President Alassane Ouattara Cote D’Ivoire said on Tuesday that French forces would withdraw from the West African nation, continuing the former colonial power’s military exit from the region.
Speaking in an end-of-year address to the nation, Ouattara said Ivorians should be proud of the modernised state of their armed forces.
“In this context, we have decided on the coordinated and organised withdrawal of French forces,’’ he said.
Sources told Reuters in November that France has been considering reducing its military presence in West and Central African countries.
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This included Cote d’Ivoire, where it intended to reduce forces to 600 troops from around 2,200 now.
France, whose colonial rule in West Africa ended in the 1960s, has already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
This followed military coups in those countries and spread anti-French sentiment.
The government of Chad – a key Western ally in the fight against militants in the region – abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France in November. (Reuters)
