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Mahamat Deby said the decision to terminate the country's military pact with France was taken because it had become outdated, in his first public remarks since the surprise announcement last week.

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

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, 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.

STORY: Chad's government says it has ended a defence cooperation deal with France - a move that could result in French troops leaving the central African country.France currently has around 1,000 troops stationed in Chad,

France said on Friday it took note of a decision by Chad to end its defence cooperation with Paris and would now work with it to implement the decision, the foreign ministry said.

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's decision to end military cooperation with former colonial power France is the latest downgrade of waning French influence in the Sahel region. Chad has been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the Sahel after the forced withdrawal of troops from Mali,