France and Chad resume military cooperation as they mend ties

Two Mirage fighter jets and a transport aircraft will soon make a stopover in Chad where they will carry out "training activities," the French army said Thursday.

The announcement comes as relations between France and its former colony have been on the mend. N’Djamena kicked French troops out of the country in 2024, ending a six-decade security arrangement.

But in mid-October, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno for talks in Paris.

"There has been a resumption of cooperation with Chad, in full respect of Chad's sovereignty," Xavier Rival, spokesperson for the French chief of defence staff said.

He told reporters that France's objective was “to contribute to efforts against regional instability” and that it would help develop "the capabilities of the Chadian air force".

The stopover will take place as part of a joint military exercise involving the armed forces of Ivory Coast, Gabon, and France in November, he added.

During Deby's visit in October, France and Chad signed a declaration of intent to structure their defence cooperation "on a renewed basis".

According to the Elysee, security cooperation was restored at the beginning of the year, notably for military training, equipment supplies, and intelligence sharing.

Chad had been one of France's last military footholds in the Sahel.

Paris once deployed more than 5,000 soldiers in the region as part of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, which ended in November 2022.

Coups between 2020 and 2023 in nearby Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger forced France to withdraw from those countries as their new leaders drew closer to Russia.

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