France's military presence in Chad has ended following the departure of two combat jets and a tanker aeroplane from the capital N'Djamena.

The French military says it has flown out the two Mirage fighter jets it had stationed in Chad, signaling the beginning of its withdrawal of military forces from the central African country.

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.

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.

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 has initiated the withdrawal of its military forces from Chad, starting with the departure of two Mirage fighter jets on Tuesday. These aircraft left N'Djamena, heading back to a base in France,