The military junta in Niger, which deposed the West African country’s president last week, has scrapped a number of security and defense agreements with France.
The ruling military said that, “Faced with France’s nonchalant attitude and reaction to the situation… [we have] decided to denounce the cooperation agreements in the field of security and defense with this state.”
France currently has around 1,500 troops in Niger but counter-terrorism operations have been suspended since the ousting of the elected Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. The move could lead to France withdrawing its forces from another West African country.
Paris has already pulled its forces out of Mali and Burkina Faso following military coups in both countries and moved the core of its operations in the southern Sahara to Niger. French troops are in the Sahel region to help disrupt and dismantle armed groups but the immediate future of the mission in Niger is now uncertain after the Nigerien army rulers revoked a raft of military cooperation agreements.
In recent days, since the army deposed the sitting president, there have been major demonstrations in the Nigerien capital, Niamey. France has been the target of a lot of the protesters’ anger, with anti-France slogans being chanted and the country’s embassy building attacked.
The government has also taken the French TV channel France 24 and the radio station RFI off air. The EU and the French government have denounced the decision, saying “the measures taken against the press are part of a context of authoritarian repression carried out by the authors of the attempted coup.”
