Description: France has officially transferred command to Senegal of its last two military bases in the country, ending its military presence across west and central Africa. The withdrawal ends the 65 – year tenure of French troops in the country in times of growing terrorist threats and jihadists conflicts across the Sahel region. Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, stated that France remains a stable partner to Senegal while also demanding an official apology from the French government for colonial atrocities committed to Senegalese soldiers fighting for France in the Second World War. The French government continues to conduct the continent-wide pullout of military forces, following the withdrawals from the Ivory Coast, Chad and Mali. The Central African Republic, where a certain degree of French military presence is still active, has also reportedly demanded for French troops to withdraw. Djibouti remains the only country where France has military presence in Africa, where an approximated 1,500 soldiers are stationed.
Impact: France has been increasingly escalating its troop withdrawal activities across Africa in the past couple of years which has created a power vacuum filled by Russian influence through private paramilitary groups and other forms of economic and political cooperation. The public portrayal of the withdrawals is perceived as if it was requested by the hosting African countries, even though, France has in many situations instigated the withdrawals of its troops. The Sahel region led by military juntas is plagued with terrorist and jihadist activities within countries such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad which have evident issues in capacities of combating larger terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. Senegal, for the time being, remains stable, however, with the uptick of terrorist attacks and increased operational capabilities within these organizations, stability in the region is fragile and under constant threat by destabilizing forces across the western African nations. Russia has predominantly exchanged western influence across central Africa through bilateral cooperation and security cohesion between Russian paramilitary groups and national armies and law enforcement agencies from the region. The combined withdrawal of western influence from the continent, demonstrated by the US budget cuts within aid and humanitarian organizations, which enabled the US to exercise soft power influence in the country and the French troop withdrawal would contribute to increased regional influence by Russia and China establishing long – term presence and strategic advantages on the resource rich continent.