Senegal has announced the closure of all foreign military bases without setting any timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko made the announcement during a general policy statement in the National Assembly on Friday. “The President of the Republic has decided to close all foreign military bases in the near future,” Sonko said.
The French military and foreign ministry did not immediately react to the announcement.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye last month expressed his desire to close French bases in Senegal.
“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of foreign military bases,” the head of state said in a rare media interview.
This decision to close the bases appears to be primarily targeted at France. A former colonial power in much of Africa, France has faced opposition from some African leaders over its perceived disrespectful and harsh approach to the continent.
France, which has already left Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, confirmed on Thursday that it had withdrawn the last of its troops from the Faya base in Chad. France’s permanent military presence in Chad ″no longer meets the expectations and interests of each side″, the army said, and described the withdrawal from 2022 as part of ″restructuring its system in Africa″.
French officials have said France aims to sharply reduce its presence at all its bases in Africa except Djibouti. This also includes 350 French troops in Senegal. According to officials, France could instead provide defense training or targeted military assistance depending on the needs expressed by those countries.
Senegal’s new government, which has been in power for less than a year, has taken a hardline stance on the presence of French troops as part of a larger regional protest against what many see as a legacy of an oppressive colonial empire. Are.
