France and Senegal have agreed on a timeline for the withdrawal of all French troops stationed in the West African nation by the end of 205, signaling a further recalibration of France’s military presence in the region, Al Jazeera reports.
A joint statement released Wednesday by both countries announced the establishment of a commission tasked with overseeing the departure of French military personnel and the return of French military bases to Senegalese control. The commission will also focus on forging a “new defense and security partnership” that reflects the “strategic priorities of all parties,” according to statements from the respective foreign ministries.
The move follows President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s announcement in November that the presence of French army bases, and its contingent of some 350 soldiers, was “incompatible” with Senegal’s sovereignty.
The decision comes as Senegal commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Thiaroye massacre, in which colonial forces killed protesting Senegalese soldiers of the Tirailleurs Senegalais unit in 1944. These soldiers, who had fought for France against Nazi Germany, were demanding unpaid wages and better living conditions. French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the massacre in a letter to Faye last year.
Senegal’s decision to distance itself from its colonial past reflects a growing trend across West and Central Africa, where nations are re-evaluating their relationships with France.
France completed its troop withdrawal from Chad at the end of January, following a similar decision by Ivory Coast. However, the diplomatic climate contrasts sharply with that of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. These three nations, governed by military juntas, expelled some 4,300 French soldiers in 2022 after France refused to endorse the coups that brought the new regimes to power.
