Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has announced that all foreign military forces must leave the country by July

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Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has declared that all foreign military personnel stationed in the country must withdraw by the end of July.

French troops remain the only foreign military presence in Senegal, operating under a 2012 defense partnership agreement. As part of a phased withdrawal, France officially transferred control of the Rear Admiral Protet naval base in Dakar to Senegalese authorities on May 15. This follows the earlier handover of the Marshall and Saint-Exupéry facilities in March. The remaining bases are scheduled to be transferred in subsequent phases.

Speaking to Burkina Faso’s national broadcaster RTB on Monday, Sonko said that since his administration came to power nearly a year ago, it had taken a number of steps to assert national sovereignty.

“We have notified all countries that have military bases in Senegal that we demand a complete withdrawal. There will be no more foreign military bases on Senegalese territory,” he stated.

  • jack [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    8 hours ago

    Faye stocks are rising. He may have acted as the hostile middleman during the AES - ECOWAS spat, but most of what he’s done (that I’ve seen) has been pretty cool. What are the Faye takes here?

    Mine: A military coup like the AES is not really an option in Senegal, as the continuity of elections there is a huge point of national pride. Faye has been mostly pretty good regarding neocolonialism, and I hope he can provide a gradual path to partnership and even membership with the AES (which would also provide them with access to the sea, as the confederation is currently landlocked). I know nothing about Faye’s internal policies.

      • MolotovHalfEmpty [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        14·
        14 hours ago

        Former Russian mercenary army that were operating on Africa. Got absorbed into the Russian military after prigo-pog tried a coup-esque stunt to prove a point and then died shortly afterwards in a totally unrelated but completely expected plane crash.

        The point the poster above is making is that for years Western occupying militaries, often running illegal dirty wars, in Africa have tried to deflect themselves from criticism by pointing to comparatively small Wagner mercenary operations in the area and saying they have to be there because Russia is.

        But increasingly the Sahel countries are kicking out occupying troops anyway and moving to build more sustainable pan-African power.