France begins military base handover to Senegal

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo via Reuters

DAKAR (Reuters) -     France handed over two military facilities to Senegal on Friday, the French embassy said, the first formal step in ending French military presence in the West African country as the region shifts away from the former coloniser. 

France set up a joint commission with Senegal last month to organise the restitution of military bases and the withdrawal of 350 troops by the end of 2025.

Senegal's neighbours Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all already pushed out French troops and turned to Russia for help fighting jihadist insurgencies on their territory.

France also began its military withdrawal from Chad in December after the government there - an important Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region - abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France.

"In accordance with the decision of the joint commission... the French side handed over facilities and accommodation in the Maréchal and Saint-Exupéry quarters to the Senegalese side," the French embassy in Senegal said in a statement on its website, referring to sites in Dakar.

Other handovers will take place according to a jointly agreed timetable, it said.

Senegal's president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, said during his New Year's Eve address that all foreign military presence in Senegal would be put to an end.

Faye had also said in an interview a month earlier that France's military bases were incompatible with Senegalese sovereignty and would have to be closed.

 (Reporting by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Writing by Sofia Christensen, Editing by Timothy Heritage)