DAKAR: France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent camps in either west or central Africa.
The pull-out, which ends the French army's 65 years in Senegal, mirrors similar withdrawals across the continent, where ex-colonies are increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler.
The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening Gulf of Guinea nations to the south.
A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal.
France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials.
They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa.
Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries".
He said the 'new objectives' were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership".
Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added.
Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa".
"We are turning a page in the military history of our two countries... a very special relationship and one essential for the countries of the region," he added.
Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March.
After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025.
Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris.
After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its history.
Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner.
Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw.
"Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. — AFP
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