Experts say they are following the example of Sahel countries as local leaders and populations want more sovereignty over their security

The troops are expected to leave Ivory Coast this month as France, a former colonial power in West Africa, fast loses influence there.

Ivory Coast is the sixth in a growing list of African nations cutting military ties with former colonial power France.

French forces have also left Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger in recent months after a series of military coups.

French troops will soon begin departing Ivory Coast, raising questions about what France's military presence in West Africa will look like, and how Ivory Coast will fill the security void. With the exit of French troops from Ivory Coast,

Ivory Coast says that French troops will leave the country starting January 2025, becoming the latest African nation to downscale military ties with its former colonial power.

Vantage With Palki Sharma The Ivory Coast has become the latest African nations to oust French soldiers from its soil. France has been given till the end of January to hand over a military base in Abidjan.

The Ivory Coast has ordered French forces to leave the country by August 2025. In a New Year’s Eve address, President Alassane Ouattara exhorted Ivorians to “be proud of our army, whose modernization is now effective.

In recent months, six African countries have asked France to withdraw their troops, significantly curtailing France’s influence in the region that it had traditionally had a sway in

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said in an end-of-year speech that French forces will withdraw from the West African nation in January, making it the latest country to weaken military ties with the former colonial power.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara arrives to attend the opening session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on October 5, 2024.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Tuesday that French forces would withdraw from the West African nation, continuing the former colonial power's military exit from the region. Speaking in an end-of-year address to the nation,