France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said on Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces’ camp a day earlier.

In January, Burkina Faso gave France one month to withdraw its troops as it ended a military accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents on its territory, citing a wish for the country to defend itself.

Their departure marks a new chapter in Burkina’s battle with the Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, who have taken over large swathes of land and displaced millions of people in the wider Sahel region, just south of the Sahara.

In a statement, the General Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces said it had participated with the leadership of France’s Sabre special forces in “a solemn flag-lowering ceremony marking the official end of the Task Force’s operations on Burkinabe soil”.

The French armed forces ministry did not respond to a request for comment made by Reuters.

Last month, the French foreign ministry said France would comply with the request for it to withdraw some 200-400 of its special forces personnel from Burkina Faso.