The French government reported this Thursday, August 3, that it has completed the evacuations of hundreds of French and European citizens from Niger, amid security concerns after the coup. For their part, Washington and London ordered the departure of part of the staff of their embassies, as well as their families. Meanwhile, hundreds of Nigeriens demonstrated in favor of the military junta on the 63rd anniversary of the country’s independence.
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France completes the evacuation operations of its citizens and other European nations that chose to leave Niger. This was reported this Thursday, August 3, by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu.
In total, some 1,079 people were transferred, including 577 French citizens.
“The evacuation of our citizens from Niger has just been completed. 1,079 French and Europeans are now safe,” Lecornu remarked on the X platform, formerly Twitter.
The emergency measure, which began on Monday, August 1, proceeded amid high security concerns and the cessation of commercial flights since the military junta overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
After Bazoum’s forcible departure from the Executive branch, violent protests broke out by of sympathizers of the Army against the French embassy in Niamey, the capital, in an expression of rejection of the colonialist past.
In addition, tensions rose after the Army colonel Amadou Abdramane, who participated in the coup, accused Paris of planning an alleged attack to free the ousted president, who remains in custody.
However, in an interview with France 24, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna He categorically denied the accusations.
US and UK order evacuation of diplomatic staff and their families
The Joe Biden Administration and the British Government begin to take security measures in the midst of the crisis in the African country.
The United States and the United Kingdom ordered the evacuation of some of the staff of their embassies in Niamey, as well as their families.
“Given ongoing developments in Niger and out of an abundance of caution, the Department of State is ordering the temporary departure of non-emergency US Government personnel and eligible family members from the US Embassy in Niamey” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
However, Miller affirmed that the mission will remain open and that his nation will continue to work to help restore order.
The US Embassy in Niamey remains open. It has suspended routine services and can only provide emergency assistance to US citizens at this time. Updates will be shared with US citizens in the area via alerts, our embassy website, and @TravelGov https://t.co/2k0zgOqHtz
—Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) August 2, 2023
This pronouncement came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed out that the White House is committed to restoring the government of the affected country.
For its part, the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that it is temporarily reducing the number of workers at its embassy in the Nigerien capital, “due to the security situation.”
Hundreds demonstrate in favor of the coup on Independence Day
On the day that Niger’s independence is commemorated, hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate in favor of the Army and the coup that ousted the first democratically elected president in the country.
The demonstration spread through the streets of Niamey, when the nation commemorates 63 years of independence from France.
Anti-Western sentiment, but mainly in opposition to France, is growing.
The ousted president had been a supporter of Western nations in the fight against Islamist militias, as groups allied to al Qaeda and the self-styled Islamic State have strengthened in the Sahel in recent years. Paris has maintained around 1,500 military personnel in the nation since earlier this year, when his forces had to withdraw from neighboring Mali.
But many Nigeriens consider that there is an interference in their internal affairs and demand the departure of the westerners, while Niger, like other central African nations, becomes a renewed diplomatic battlefield, due to the growing influence of Russia and China.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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