Chad's President Mahamat Deby said the decision to terminate the country's military pact with France was taken because it had become outdated, in his first public remarks since the surprise announcement last week.

President Mahamat Idriss Deby says decision to end military cooperation with Paris is ‘a sovereign act carefully thought out’ - Anadolu Ajansı

Chad, a former African colony of France, has for decades been central to its military operations in Africa, but it is developing closer ties to Russia amid the NATO war with Russia in Ukraine.