President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast has announced that French troops will soon depart the West African country.
Ouattara, who disclosed this in his televised New Year address explained that the departure of the about 600 French soldiers are currently stationed in Ivory Coast will begin in January.
He said the move is to facilitate the modernisation of the Ivorian army, adding that the French naval infantry battalion in Port Bouet would, therefore, be handed over to the country’s own forces.
It could be recalled that several West African states including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger had previously called on France to withdraw its troops after maintaining military presence in the countries even after it's colonial rule.
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