\n<\/p>\n
Chad has said it is terminating a key defence cooperation agreement with France, raising questions about Paris\u2019s waning influence in Africa’s embattled Sahel region.<\/p>\n
Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said it was time for his country to “assert its full sovereignty”.<\/p>\n
The announcement came just hours after Koulamallah’s French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, met Chad’s President Mahamat Deby.<\/p>\n
Chad is a key partner in the West’s fight against Islamist militants in the West African Sahel region.<\/p>\n
But prior to the presidential election in May, Chad’s authorities ordered the withdrawal of US troops from the country, signalling a distancing from the country’s traditional Western allies.<\/p>\n
France currently has about 1,000 troops in the Central African country providing intelligence and logistical assistance to the Chadian military from their bases, including in the capital N\u2019Djamena.<\/p>\n
France, Chad’s former colonial ruler, had signed a revised version of the military and security agreement in 2019.<\/p>\n
Chad is just the latest nation in Central and West Africa to sever its security agreements with Paris.<\/p>\n
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have all ended deals with France and other Western nations in recent years, turning to Russia for support instead.<\/p>\n
But Koulamallah told the AFP news agency that Chad’s decision did not mark a “break with France, like Niger or elsewhere”.<\/p>\n
France was an “essential partner” but Chad must “redefine its strategic partnerships according to national priorities”, Koulamallah said at a press briefing on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The authorities insisted the move would not affect Chad’s relations with France in other areas.<\/p>\n