France has started the withdrawal of its military from Chad with the departure of two warplanes that were based in the capital N'Djamena, the French army said, two weeks after Chad said it was ending its defence cooperation pact with Paris.

France's military presence in Chad has ended following the departure of two combat jets and a tanker aeroplane from the capital N'Djamena. "France is putting an end to its detachment of fighter planes at the Kossei airbase,

The decision by Chad is another blow to what remained of France’s military influence in the troubled stretch of countries below the Sahara, where Russia’s influence has been growing.

France flies its 2 Mirage fighter jets out of Chad, signaling beginning of its military withdrawal from African country