France has been accused of causing chaos and instability in several African countries. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said this, hitting back at President Emmanuel Macron, who accused some African leaders of being ungrateful despite France’s military support.

At a press conference with French ambassadors on Monday, Mr Macron said France deployed its military to combat terrorism in some countries in the Sahel region, claiming that the nations would not be sovereign without French support.

Mr Sonko condemned the claim.

“Let’s note that France has neither the capacity nor legitimacy to ensure Africa’s security and sovereignty,” Mr Sonko said. “Quite the contrary, it has often contributed to destabilising certain African countries, like Libya, with disastrous consequences on the stability and security of the Sahel.”

The Senegalese prime minister also addressed France’s planned troop withdrawals, stating that Senegal’s call for the French military’s departure was a sovereign decision, contrary to Mr Macron’s claim that French forces were leaving the Sahel in agreement with respective countries.

“I want to say that, in the case of Senegal, this statement is totally wrong. No discussions or negotiations have taken place to date, and the decision taken by Senegal stems from its sole will, as a free, independent and sovereign country,” Mr Sonko asserted.

Mr Sonko’s statement supports similar criticism from Chad’s foreign affairs minister, Abderaman Koulamallah, who denounced Mr Macron for being “contemptuous towards Africa and Africans.”

“France has never provided the Chadian army in a significant way or contributed to its structural development,” Mr Koulamallah said in a statement on Monday.

He added, “In 60 years of presence, marked by civil wars, rebellions and prolonged political instability, the French contribution has often been limited to its own strategic interests, without any real lasting impact on the development of the Chadian people.”

Recently, France withdrew its troops and military bases from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The European country is also preparing to withdraw its forces from Chad, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.