Ivory Coast announced on Tuesday that French troops would leave the country after a decades-long military presence. It is the latest African nation to reduce military ties with its former colonial power.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said the withdrawal would begin in January. France has about 600 troops in Ivory Coast.
“We have decided on a concerted and organized withdrawal of French forces in Ivory Coast,” he said. He said that the military infantry battalion of Port Bouët, operated by the French army, would be handed over to Ivorian troops.
Ouattara’s announcement follows announcements from other leaders in West Africa, where French troops are being asked to leave. Analysts have described the move as part of a broader structural change in the region’s engagement with Paris.
Several West African countries, including coup-hit Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, have recently asked the French to leave. Recently, Senegal and Chad did the same. Chad is considered France’s most stable and loyal partner in Africa.
The deterioration in military ties comes as France attempts to revive its declining political and military influence on the continent by formulating a new military strategy that would sharply reduce its standing army presence in Africa.
France has now been driven out of more than 70% of the African countries where it had a military presence since colonial rule ended. The French are left with only 1,500 troops in Djibouti and 350 troops in Gabon.
After expelling French troops, military leaders from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have moved closer to Russia, where mercenaries have been deployed in the Sahel, who have been accused of abuses against civilians.
The security situation in those countries has deteriorated due to extremist attacks by armed groups and government forces and increasing numbers of civilian deaths.