December 4, Nairobi — Chad ended its military cooperation with France due to tensions over the ongoing war in Sudan, Jeune Afrique reported this week.
On November 28, Chad announced that it was ending its military agreements with France, taking Paris by surprise. Chad was France’s last foothold in the Sahel region.
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, had been in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, a few hours before the announcement. The sudden move allegedly followed a series of disagreements between the two countries on Sudan.
Chad’s President, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, had previously expressed the importance of French troops in his country, particularly in defending against rebel incursions from Sudan and Libya.
But this changed after a meeting between Itno and French President Emmanuel Macron during a summit last October. Macron raised concerns about the role of the United Arab Emirates in Sudan’s war, specifically its support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UAE has been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons to the RSF through Chad. Macron urged Itno to remain neutral in the conflict, which he allegedly rebuffed.
There were further tensions when Barrot reiterated Macron’s call for Chadian neutrality during his visit to N’Djamena on November 28. According to Jeune Afrique, Itno considered this to be an unacceptable interference.
At a press briefing after the meeting Chad’s foreign minister called France “an essential partner” but said that it “must now also consider that Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state that is very jealous of its sovereignty.”
Despite accusations of Chad supplying the RSF with weapons regularly surfacing, the government has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Sudan war.