Two people were killed and about 15 were injured while trying to enter the French military base in the Chadian city of Faya-Largeau after the incident with the death of a soldier, a local informed source told Sputnik on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, residents of Faya-Largeau gathered to hold protests and attempted to infiltrate a French military base after the local soldier died at the hands of a French doctor.
"The death toll was three people, including the Chadian soldier killed by the French. About 15 people sustained injuries of varying severity. There are women and children among the victims," the source said.
Immediately after the incident, most of the French military base was evacuated by plane to the Chadian capital of N'Djamena. Currently, the French base is blocked by the Chadian military in order to prevent the protesters from re-penetrating its perimeter, the source added.
Chadian political scientist Evariste Ngarlem Tolde told Sputnik on Wednesday that members of the Chadian parliament had demanded the withdrawal of French military forces from the country after the death of a local resident in care of a French doctor in Faya-Largeau. He added that the protests could spread across the country.
The France-led counterterrorism mission Barkhane was founded in 2014 to assist the Malian military in their fight against terrorism in the African region of Sahel. The mission involved forces of the G5 Sahel countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania.
In the spring of 2022, the Malian government announced that it was terminating defense agreements with Paris and called on the country to withdraw troops involved in the Barkhane and other missions. In November 2022, Macron announced the official end of Operation Barkhane.