Ivory Coast has announced that French troops will leave the country this month after a decades-long military presence, becoming the latest African nation to downscale military ties with its former colonizer.
In an end-of-year address to the nation on Tuesday, President Alassane Ouattara said the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion would be handed over to Ivory Coast’s armed forces.
French colonial rule ended in West Africa in the 1960s. Ivory Coast is the latest West African nation to expel French troops after Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire remains an important ally of France. So, the downscaling of its military ties with the country comes as France attempts to revive its decreasing military influence on the continent.
At this time, France has now been kicked out of more than 70 percent of African countries where it had a troop presence since the end of its colonial rule. The French remain only in Djibouti, with 1,500 soldiers, and Gabon, with 350 personnel.
Read more here.
