Senegal’s 🇸🇳 President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has told France to close all its army bases in the country, noting that it was “incompatible” with Senegal’s national sovereignty.
“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” Faye said in an interview at the presidential palace.
He however maintained that the act did not constitute a break with France, like those seen elsewhere in west Africa in recent years.
“Today, China is our largest trading partner in terms of investment and trade. Does China have a military presence in Senegal? No. Does that mean our relations are cut? No,” he said.
Faye said that France’s President Emmanuel Macron had admitted that his country’s troops were responsible for a “massacre” of Senegalese soldiers in 1944.
He hailed the acknowledgement but said that allowing French bases in the country was incompatible with national sovereignty.
Military led francophone countries Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, have also expelled French forces and turned to Russia for security aid instead.
Peoplesmind
