KAlmost two months after the coup in Niger, France is completely withdrawing its troops from the African country. President Emmanuel Macron announced this on Sunday evening in a television interview on France 2 and TF1. “We are ending our cooperation in Niger,” said Macron. The 1,500 soldiers stationed at three bases would leave the country by the end of the year at the latest.
After the coup on July 26, Macron initially worked to ensure that elected President Mohamed Bazoum was reinstated. Macron said he spoke on the phone on Sunday with Bazoum, who is under house arrest.
He announced that the French ambassador in Niamey, Sylvain Itté, and the remaining embassy staff would be flown to France. The regime under General Abdourahamane Tchiani recently stopped allowing food deliveries to the embassy. The ambassador’s accreditation had previously been withdrawn. According to information from the French Foreign Ministry, the living conditions for the ambassador had become increasingly precarious. It was said that he was living on military emergency rations.
Food supplies can no longer be guaranteed for the 1,500 French soldiers in the country. There were reports in the French press that the soldiers were becoming increasingly vocal about their displeasure.
The situation is particularly difficult at the two external bases in Ouallam and Ayorou. Macron emphasized that France had sent soldiers to Niger to help in the fight against terrorism at the request of the democratically elected government. This basis is now missing.
The withdrawal is also likely to have consequences for the Bundeswehr. So far it has organized its withdrawal from neighboring Mali via the Niamey hub. Macron’s announcement of the total withdrawal was preceded by a ban on all French aircraft, including Air France. The airspace remains open for other international flights. The Republic of Niger has a population of more than 25 million and is one of the poorest countries in the world according to the United Nations Human Development Index.
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