09/24/2023 10:18 pm (current 09/24/2023 10:20 pm)
Macron announces withdrawal from Niger ©APA/AFP
The President of France wants to withdraw French armed forces from Niger. Military cooperation with the African country will be terminated and French soldiers stationed there must return by the end of the year, Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday night in an interview with TF1 and France 2 television channels.
At the end of July, Niger’s presidential guard deposed head of state Mohamed Bazoum in a military coup. The West African country, with its 25 million inhabitants, has recently been an important partner for France in its fight against terrorism in the Sahel area. Paris has around 2,500 soldiers deployed in Niger and neighboring Chad. The new ruler in Niger is the commander of the elite unit, General Abdourahamane Tiani, who suspended the constitutional order.
French ambassador Sylvain Itté is also expected to return to France, Macron said. By the end of August, the coup plotters had already demanded the diplomat’s departure – an ultimatum that France did not recognize, claiming that his accreditation came from Niger’s deposed elected representatives. In mid-September, Macron reported that the ambassador and his team were being held “hostage”. The former colonial power does not recognize the new government – just like other Western and African states.
As French media unanimously reported on Sunday, the military government closed its airspace exclusively to French aircraft on Saturday. Niger lifted the blockade imposed for several weeks after the September 4 coup.
Before the coup, France actively supported President Bazoum’s government in the fight against jihadist militias. The former colonial power had to withdraw its troops after military coups in the neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger was considered the West’s last ally in the region.