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.

Deby's decision to end the pact with France could force all French troops to leave after being stationed there over six decades since the country became independent. Chad ordered out the small contingent of U.S. forces based there this year.

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

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.

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.

Chad is the latest country in the troubled Sahel region to break with its former colonial power, a move that will likely result in the exit of some 1,000 French troops.

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.