French forces to withdraw – Ivory Coast president

Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, on Tuesday, said that French forces would withdraw from the nation.

Ouattara, while speaking in an end-of-year address to the nation, said Ivorians should be proud of the modernised state of their own armed forces.

“In this context, we have decided on the coordinated and organised withdrawal of French forces,” he said.

Sources said that France has been considering reducing its military presence in West and Central African countries, including Ivory Coast, to 600 troops from around 2,200 now.

Recall that France has already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, amid military coups in those countries and spreading anti-French sentiment.

Advertisement

Similarly, the Chadian government, which is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region has also ended its defence cooperation pact with France in November.