By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
France is set to return the last of its military bases that are stationed in Senegal which means that the French military will have no permanent camps based in West and Central African regions.
After the French army’s 65 year placement in Senegal this has signified a step towards removing former colonial entities from the countries they used to rule over. 350 French soldiers were tasked with facilitating joint operations in tandem with the Senegalese army now this has come to an end following a three month long departure process that took place.
France started the process in March. Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had demanded that France must withdraw their troops from Senegal by 2025, amid winning the elections in 2024. Faye has stated that even though he requested that France remove their troops, the country will still continue working with Paris, unlike his counterparts in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso who opted to sever any ties with their former colonisers.
Mbaye Cisse, who serves as Senegal’s Chief of General Staff and General Pascal Ianni will attend the ceremony in Dakar where France will welcome the return of the largest army base that was situated in the country.
When Senegal gained independence in 1960, this marked the beginning of a strong allyship between France and Senegal as they had hosted French troops frequently over the years. Now President Faye has mentioned that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner, in an attempt at making the country more self-sufficient.
“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country.” said Faye in 2024 after winning his election and has noted that “France remains an important partner for Senegal.”
Faye has also made a request for Paris to issue an apology for past atrocities due to colonialism, which includes the 1 December 1944 massacre of African troops who had fought for France during the second world war. This has urged other African countries to question the current remnants of France’s military presence.
The country of Djibouti will stand with France in terms of facilitating a home for France’s military base, and intends on making the land the headquarters for the military base with participation of 1,500 people.