Ivory Coast president says French forces to withdraw in January

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said in an end-of-year speech that French forces will withdraw from the West African nation in January, making it the latest country to weaken military ties with the former colonial power.

“We can be proud of our army, whose modernization is now effective. It is in this context that we have decided on the concerted and organised withdrawal of French forces” from Ivory Coast, Ouattara said Tuesday.

He added that the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion at Port-Bouet in Abidjan — where French troops are currently stationed — “will be handed over” to Ivory Coast’s armed forces as of January 2025.

France has been preparing for years what it called a “reorganisation” of military relations after the forced departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where governments hostile to the ex-colonial ruler have come to power.

Last month, within hours of each other, Senegal and Chad announced the departure of French soldiers from their soil.

On December 26, France returned a first military base to Chad — the last Sahel nation to host French troops.

Ivory Coast remains an important ally of France.

About 1,000 French soldiers were deployed to the 43rd BIMA to assist in particular with the fight against jihadists who regularly strike the Sahel region, as well as the north of some countries along the Gulf of Guinea.

Ouattara also said in his year-end speech that the presidential election slated for October 2025, would be “peaceful” as well as “transparent and democratic”.

In office since 2010, Ouattara has not yet said whether he will seek a fourth term.