Ivory Coast president says French forces to withdraw in January
by AFP Staff Writers
Abidjan (AFP) Jan 1, 2025
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.

Ouattara said late on Tuesday that Ivory Coast could be proud of its army "whose modernisation is now effective.

"It is in this context that we have decided on the concerted and organised withdrawal of French forces" from the country, he announced.

France has been preparing for years what it calls a "reorganisation" of military relations after the forced departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military-led governments hostile to the ex-colonial ruler have seized power in recent years.

In November, within hours of each other, Senegal and Chad also announced the departure of French soldiers from their soil.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said on Tuesday that all foreign military presence in the country would end from 2025.

The announcement, also made during a speech to mark the new year, was the first indication of a timeframe for the closure of foreign military bases in Senegal.

"I have instructed the minister for the armed forces to propose a new doctrine for cooperation in defence and security, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal from 2025," Faye said.

"All of Senegal's friends will be treated like strategic partners, within the framework of open, diversified and uninhibited cooperation," he said.

Faye, who was elected in March on a promise to deliver sovereignty and end dependence on foreign countries, told AFP in November that the presence of French military bases in Senegal was incompatible with his country's sovereignty.

But he maintained that the act did not constitute a break with France, like those seen elsewhere in the region.

- Hand-overs -

Ouattara, who has not yet said whether he will seek a fourth term in elections slated for October, said in his speech 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 this month.

Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer which also has huge deposits of natural resources including oil, gas and gold, 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, who turned 83 on Wednesday, has been in office since 2010, also said in his year-end speech that the presidential election would be "peaceful" as well as "transparent and democratic".

On December 26, France handed over its first military base as part of the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad.

Chad had been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after being forced to pull out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.

Senegal president says no more 'foreign military presence from 2025'
Dakar (AFP) Dec 31, 2024 - Senegal's President Bassirou Dioumaye Faye said that 2025 would see an end to all foreign military presence in the west African country, in a speech on Tuesday to mark the new year.

Faye's statement came a month after he announced that former colonial master France would have to close its military bases in Senegal.

"I have instructed the minister for the armed forces to propose a new doctrine for cooperation in defence and security, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal from 2025," said Faye, who was elected in March.

This is the first time he has set a date for the closure of foreign military bases.

"All of Senegal's friends will be treated like strategic partners, within the framework of open, diversified and uninhibited cooperation," said Faye.

The president, who took office in April, was elected on a promise to deliver sovereignty and end dependence on foreign countries.

On November 28, he told AFP that the presence of French military bases in Senegal was incompatible with that sovereignty.

"Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," he said, some 64 years after Senegal's independence from France.

He however maintained that the act did not constitute a break with France, like those seen elsewhere in west Africa in recent years.

"France remains an important partner for Senegal for the investment for Senegal and the presence of French companies and even French citizens who are in Senegal," said Faye.

Guinea junta leader says 2025 a 'crucial electoral year'
Conakry (AFP) Jan 1, 2025 - Guinea's junta chief said Tuesday in a New Year's speech that 2025 will be "a crucial electoral year to complete the return to constitutional order", but gave no details.

General Mamady Doumbouya leads a junta that overthrew civilian president Alpha Conde in September 2021.

Under international pressure, the junta initially pledged to hold a constitutional referendum and hand power to elected civilians by the end of 2024 -- but neither has happened.

The general said in his New Year's speech that "in the first quarter of 2025, I will sign a decree setting the date" of the constitutional referendum.

"After the electoral code has been drawn up, during 2025, we will all work together to continue to lay the foundations for the general elections," he said.

Guinea's main opposition parties and civil society organisations have called for demonstrations in Conakry on January 6 to "demand the departure of the junta and the establishment of a civilian transition".

Since the junta took power, many opposition figures have been detained, brought before the courts or forced into exile.

Two former high-ranking officers and a doctor have died in unclear circumstances in recent months after their arrests.

A journalist from the Lerevelateur224 website was also arrested earlier this month by men in uniform in the suburbs of the capital, Conakry, and his whereabouts are unknown, his lawyers and a press union said.

The latest crackdown came last week when Aliou Bah, the leader of an opposition party, was arrested as he travelled to Sierra Leone with two colleagues for allegedly "insulting" the junta head.

His trial, which began Tuesday, is due to resume on January 2.

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