PARIS (AP) — France flew out the two Mirage fighter jets it had stationed in Chad on Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the withdrawal of its military forces from the African country, the French military said.
The pair of Mirage 2000-D fighters took off after midday from a French base in N’Djamena, after Chadian military forces came to wish them farewell, and were returning to a French air force base in Nancy in eastern France, French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said.
He added that negotiations with Chadian authorities are continuing on how and when France might withdraw other members of its 1,000-strong force in Chad and whether all or just some of them will leave.
The Associated Press