Senegal announces closure of all foreign military bases as it cuts ties to ex-colonial power France

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal has announced the closure of all foreign military bases, without setting a timeline for the exit of foreign troops.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko made the announcement Friday during a general policy statement to the National Assembly. “The President of the Republic has decided to close all foreign military bases in the very near future,” Sonko said.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye last month expressed his desire to close the French bases in Senegal.

“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of foreign military bases,” the head of state said in an rare media interview.

This decision to close bases appears to be aimed primarily at France. A former colonial power in much of Africa, France has faced opposition from some African leaders over an alleged demeaning and heavy handed approach to the continent. France has already left Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and the process of exiting Chad after decades of military cooperation started this month.

Senegal’s new government, which has been in power for less than a year, has taken a hard line stance on the presence of French troops as part of a larger regional backlash against what many see as the legacy of an oppressive colonial empire.