ISTANBUL

Achieving “autonomous security" was an "absolute priority" for Chad, President Mahamat Idriss Deby said on Friday, a day after France vacated its last military base.

France ended its military presence in Chad on Thursday, leaving its last base in the central African nation a day ahead of the deadline set by Chadian authorities.

To mark the end of French military presence in Chad, Deby addressed a ceremony in the capital N'Djamena, excerpts of which were shared on his official Facebook page.

"It’s a new sunrise for a fully sovereign Chad, determined to take charge of its own destiny,” Deby said, pointing out that Chad must "build a stronger and better-equipped army to respond to security threats with efficiency."

N'Djamena is "not breaking off relations" with Paris, he stressed. "We are putting an end to the military dimension of this cooperation."

Chad announced last November that it was ending military cooperation with France, prompting Paris to begin withdrawing its troops. The bilateral agreement, originally signed in 1978 and revised in 2019, was formally denounced by the Chadian government last year.

Approximately 100 French troops left the Abeche base in eastern Chad on Jan. 11. The Chadian government then gave France six weeks to remove the remaining 1,000 soldiers and their equipment, setting a deadline of Jan. 31, and Paris flew out its last soldiers from Chad on Thursday.

France's military presence in Africa has been steadily declining in recent years, as several nations push out its forces. In addition to Chad, French troops have been expelled from Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Senegal and Ivory Coast have also announced plans to remove French forces from their territories.

As of now, French troops remain in Djibouti and Gabon, two countries that have not signaled any changes to their agreements with Paris regarding military presence.