French forces leave Niger, US announces military leaders have staged a coup
The first of about 1,500 French soldiers leaves Niger on the orders of the soldiers who came to power in July. The French soldiers began withdrawing from their bases in Niger, with the first convoy of soldiers escorted out of the country by the Nigerian army and heading "towards Chad," according to authorities in the capital Niamey.
vans and armoured personnel carriers packed with French troops rolled through the dusty suburbs of Niamey on Tuesday, marking the withdrawal demanded by the Nigerian military rulers who took power in July.
In a statement read on state television, the Nigerian army called on citizens to cooperate with troop movements that it said would include about 1,500 French soldiers leaving Niger by road into Chad, a journey of hundreds of kilometres sometimes unsafe territory.
“The troops stationed in Ouallam left their base today.“These are actions related to the departure of the first land convoy to Chad, escorted by our defence and security forces,” the army said.
In addition to the land departure, “three special flights” were registered at Niamey airport, two for the departure of “97 elements of the special forces” and one “dedicated to logistics”. The new generals in power in Niger immediately called for the withdrawal of French forces after taking power on July 26, and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed their withdrawal at the end of September. About 1,000 French soldiers were stationed in Niamey, with another 400 stationed at two forward bases in the northwest near Mali and Burkina Faso, hotbeds of rebel activity.
Nigerian military leaders ensured that the withdrawal would take place “in complete security” and stated that the remaining French forces would continue the withdrawal “according to the timetable agreed by both sides”.
The United States also officially declared on Tuesday that Niger's democratically elected president had been deposed following a military coup, leading to the formal cessation of aid to Niger. There are no plans to change the US military presence in the country, senior government officials said.
The decision to limit the aid Washington can provide to Niger came after it became clear that the military government was unwilling to follow constitutional guidelines to restore civilian, democratic government, a senior official said.
“We are taking these actions because, over the past two months, we have exhausted all available options to preserve constitutional order in Niger,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said about $200 million in foreign aid to Niger that was temporarily cut in August is now officially suspended.“Any resumption of U.S. aid requires action ... to establish timely and credible democratic governance,” Miller said in a statement. The US currently has no plans to change its troop presence in the country, another official added, despite the coup label and aid suspension.
US troops have been operating two military facilities in Niger for the past ten years, one of which is used to launch drone attacks against rebel fighters who are linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. They have also taught Nigerien forces in counterterrorism.
According to the officials, there are currently 1,000 US defence department troops in Niger.