The decision by Chad is another blow to what remained of France’s military influence in the troubled stretch of countries below the Sahara, where Russia’s influence has been growing.

Chad's President Mahamat Deby said the decision to terminate the country's military pact with France was taken because it had become outdated, in his first public remarks since the surprise announcement last week.

Chad, a former African colony of France, has for decades been central to its military operations in Africa, but it is developing closer ties to Russia amid the NATO war with Russia in Ukraine.

The decision represents growing anti-French sentiment in Chad and the Sahel region, where France has been effectively expelled from several former colonies.View on euronews

France, Chad's former colonial ruler, had signed a revised version of the military and security agreement in 2019. Chad is just the latest nation in Central and West Africa to sever its security agreements with Paris.

President Mahamat Idriss Deby says decision to end military cooperation with Paris is ‘a sovereign act carefully thought out’ - Anadolu Ajansı

Deby stated that the agreement no longer served Chad's security or geopolitical interests. Despite over a decade of fighting a jihadist insurgency, support from French and U.S. troops has not succeeded in stabilizing the country.