IVORY COAST PRESIDENT SAYS FRANCE SHOULD LEAVE THE REGION – French army hands over 43e Bima Camp to Ivorian military
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has stated that French forces should withdraw, continuing the former colonial power’s military exit from the region.
France, who handed over control of a military base in the Ivory Coast commercial capital, said it would keep 80 military personnel in the region largely for ‘training purposes’.
France claims it has been considering reducing its military presence in West and Central African countries, including Ivory Coast, from around 2,200 to 600 troops now. The government of Chad also extricated itself from a pact with France in November.
At Thursday’s ceremony in Abidjan, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu who claims that France was “not disappearing” added that the 80 military personnel would form “the basis of a joint detachment, which depends on needs that will constantly be reassessed in terms of training.
French forces have been previously encamped in Ivory Coast for decades after the end of Laurent Gbagbo’s tenure in 2010.
