West Africa: Kremlin Disinformation Campaigns Aim to Discredit French Military in Sahel, Analysts Say

On Feb. 20, Ivory Coast became the latest African nation to expel French troops, taking control of the last remaining French military base in the country.

This followed the departure of French forces from Chad, which had hosted them for nearly 70 years.

These moves marked the end of France’s military presence in the Sahel region, after the expulsions from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all ruled by military juntas.

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby called the French withdrawal a “new dawn for a…