France is preparing to withdraw its troops from Niger, where 1,500 French soldiers are stationed in an anti-terror operation. Six weeks after a coup in the Sahel country brought to power a military junta that Paris does not want to recognize, contacts have begun to withdraw some of the troops. This was announced by the newspaper Le Monde and the France Presse agency on Tuesday, citing French sources. Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, appointed by the military junta, announced on Monday that talks were already underway.
“The government has already terminated the agreements that allow them to stay in our territory,” Lamine Zeine said at a news conference. “They are in a situation of illegality and I believe that the ongoing talks should allow these forces to withdraw from our country very quickly.”
A source close to French Army Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that there were contacts between soldiers from both countries on Monday. And he explained: “There is a functional coordination exchange between the military on the ground to facilitate the movement of French military assets immobilized since the suspension of counter-terrorism cooperation.”
Police detained thousands of demonstrators against the presence of the French military in Niger in Niamey last Saturday. ISSIFOU DJIBO (EFE)
It is important for France to emphasize that contacts were established between the military and not with the coup junta. He assumes that his interlocutors will continue to be the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and his government. That is why it retains its ambassador in Niamey, Nigeria’s capital, even though the coup plotters have lifted his diplomatic immunity and declared him persona non grata. And that is why it has maintained the military contingent until now.
In an interview with Le Monde this weekend, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna suggested that the military presence in Niger made little sense if neither soldiers nor vehicles could leave their bases to carry out their anti-terrorism mission. “It is important to remember that these troops are there at the request of the Nigerian authorities to support them in the fight against armed terrorist groups and to conduct training operations,” Colonna said. And he added: “Today, this operation can no longer be guaranteed as we de facto no longer have joint operations with the Nigerian armed forces.”
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
It is unclear where the first troops leaving Niger will go, nor how quickly the withdrawal will take place. According to Le Monde, they could return to France or move to neighboring Chad. The withdrawal from Mali, where more than 5,000 French soldiers were stationed, lasted from late 2021 to August 2022.
The series of coups in the Sahel and France’s withdrawal come ten years after military intervention at the request of the region’s governments to stop the advance of jihadists. In addition to Mali, French troops have left Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic in recent years, while Wagner’s Russian mercenaries have taken on significant roles in those countries. The decade culminates in an atmosphere of growing anti-French sentiment and accusations of neo-colonialism against the former metropolis.
Demonstrations in Niamey
Last weekend, thousands of people demonstrated again in front of the French soldiers’ military base in Niamey to demand their withdrawal. Citizen pressure increased. Another point of friction with Paris is the presence of Ambassador Silvain Itté on Nigerian soil after the military junta gave him 48 hours to leave the country, which expired a week ago.
“He did not behave appropriately as a diplomat,” said Nigerian Prime Minister Lamine Zeine. “I myself once asked for relations between the two countries to be maintained. France is a country with which we have always built cooperative relations and the Foreign Minister has officially invited him to talk to us about this to see to what extent.” “We could resolve the escalations,” he explained. And he added: “But he refused to do it. At first glance, this is derogatory behavior and unacceptable. We are simply waiting for this, shall we say, illicit partner to leave our country as quickly as possible.”
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Niamey last Saturday for the second day in a row to demand the withdrawal of French troops from Niger. Issa Ousseini (EFE)
On the other hand, the Prime Minister confirmed that they are negotiating with the Economic Community of West African States (Cedeao) and hopes to reach an agreement in the coming days to lift the sanctions imposed on this African country. “We hope that, assuming a certain amount of goodwill, we can reach an agreement in a few days,” said Lamine Zeine, who criticized the sanctions approved by ECOWAS. “Decisions were made hastily,” he said, pointing to “border closures, power outages, preventing the delivery of medicines to a country and even the threat of a military attack.” He concluded by emphasizing that negotiations were underway, but his country continued to call be wary of possible armed intervention. “As a responsible government,” he concluded, “we expect that the country will be attacked at any moment, and that is unfortunate.”
The President of Nigeria and ECOWAS, Bola Tinubu, indicated a few days ago that the regional body may give in to its postulates and accept a nine-month transition, compared to its official position which continues to call for the immediate release of the ousted President Bazoum and his office provides for restoration of power. In a statement last Thursday, Tinubu’s cabinet assured that Nigeria had already experienced a nine-month transition to democracy following a coup in 1999. “The president sees no reason why this situation cannot be repeated in Niger.” “If the military is deployed.” “The authorities are sincere,” he said. The coup leaders proposed a three-year transition period in August, which ECOWAS rejected.
Although the official positions of both parties have not changed, there are signs of relaxation and the option of military intervention appears frozen for the time being. This Monday, the interim government of Niger reopened its country’s airspace, which had been closed since August 6th, to civilian flights. “The airspace of the Republic of Niger is open to all domestic and international commercial flights,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport told the Niger Press Agency on Monday. However, military flights remain banned and are subject to the approval of the Nigerian authorities.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits