Faith Nyasuguta
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has announced that all foreign military bases in the country will be shut down by July 2025. Speaking in an interview aired by Burkina Faso’s national broadcaster RTB, Sonko said the decision reflects Senegal’s renewed commitment to full sovereignty and strategic independence.
“We cannot allow foreign military bases in Senegal. We have notified all countries with military bases in Senegal to withdraw their troops,” he stated firmly.
The move primarily affects France, which has maintained a military presence in Senegal for decades. Around 350 French soldiers are said to be currently stationed across three military sites in Dakar. Two of those facilities, Marrchal and Saint-Exupery were already handed over to the Senegalese authorities as part of the first phase of troop withdrawal. The full exit of foreign troops, especially French, is expected to be completed by the July deadline.
Sonko’s announcement is not isolated. It follows a wider wave of anti-French and anti-foreign military sentiment sweeping through the Sahel and West Africa. Countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and even Chad have already expelled French forces, citing neocolonialism and the ineffectiveness of foreign military interventions. In line with this trend, Senegal joined the push to retake full control of its own security apparatus.
The Prime Minister has long criticized France’s influence in Senegal’s domestic and foreign affairs. At a recent forum in Dakar, he questioned the rationale behind maintaining foreign forces decades after independence. “More than 60 years after our independence, we must ask why the French army still benefits from several military bases in our country,” Sonko said.
He emphasized that a sovereign Senegal must decide its own defense priorities and cooperate on equal footing with other nations.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a close ally of Sonko, has also signaled a shift in foreign policy, advocating for stronger ties within Africa and less dependence on former colonial powers. Their government is now repositioning Senegal as a leader in the regional movement toward autonomy, security, and political self-determination.
Although France has pledged to reduce its presence in the region, it has stated that it will continue to support African nations through defense training and joint operations, provided they request such assistance. Nonetheless, Senegal’s decision is a landmark moment in the ongoing transformation of West Africa’s international affairs scene.
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