New twist in the disengagement and withdrawal of French troops in Chad after the breakdown of defense and military cooperation agreements announced by Chad about two weeks ago. N’Djamena demands a departure of French forces before January 31. Negotiations are still ongoing, according to Paris.
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Sources close to the French government indicate that Paris received, this Thursday evening, December 19, an injunction for the departure of all French soldiers before January 31. Information that RFI was able to confirm on the Chadian side.
“ Just seven weeks to disengage a thousand soldiers and a lot of equipment is impossible” indicate high-ranking French soldiers, for whom this injunction is only a “pressure from the hard fringe of the first circle of Chadian power “.
“The negotiation is still ongoing,” assure the French military, the discussions are “technical, but going well”, they specify. Same story in N’Djamena where we insist on the quality of the partnership. “ The situation has nothing to do with the AES countries “, underlines a source close to the Chadian authorities, adding that a first withdrawal schedule extending until March was refused, as it was considered too long.
The ideal for N’Djamena would be for the departure of the French to be effective before the end of February and the start of Ramadan, “ we try to find a solution that suits both sides » adds this Chadian voice.
Proposals and counter-proposals multiply and continue, “ in a constructive spirit ”, they say. “ We want to show that disengagement is indeed underway” senior French military officials still say. And in fact, after the departure a few days ago of the “Det chasse”, the Mirage 2000s, which were stationed on the N’Djamena air base, the French holdings of Faya-Largeau (50 soldiers) and Abéché (around a hundred men) will be evacuated starting next week.
“But be careful,” say the French soldiers, “more than ten days of trail separate these two areas of the Chadian capital”. We will then have to take care of the Kossei camp. Logistics has its constraints and dictates the schedule, leaving safely and in good order does not happen in the blink of an eye.
Also readThe French army began its withdrawal from Chad with two Mirage 2000s