The action comes after Ouagadougou, Paris’ only surviving military ally in the Sahel area, supported the coup in Niger.
Due to Burkina Faso’s stance on the coup in Niger, the French government declared on Sunday that it is ceasing financial assistance to the West African country.
The ministry issued a statement in which it stated, “France suspends, until further notice, all its development aid and budget support actions in Burkina Faso.”
The choice was made just days after the juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali professed their support for the coup leaders in Niger and warned to consider any violent action against Niamey’s new military government as an act of war.
President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown and imprisoned in Niger on July 26, and the country’s institutions were shut down. According to the military, their decision to “put an end to the regime due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance”
After France withdrew from Mali due to a deterioration in relations with the administration there, Bazoum, who will be elected in 2021, invited 1,500 French troops into Niger to battle a jihadist insurgency in Africa’s Sahel area.
Paris has expressed concern over the state of its lone military ally in the Sahel and, like other Western and regional leaders, has denounced the power grab.
Allies of the deposed government, particularly Paris, have levied sanctions in an effort to pressure the military authorities to reinstate constitutional order, but General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the transitional government, has indicated he will not budge under pressure.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the military leadership a one-week deadline last Thursday, threatening to send soldiers if Tchiani and his council of generals did not step down and reinstate President Bazoum. The military government decided to close the country’s airspace till further notice after the deadline passed on Sunday.
Following the closure of Niger’s airspace, Air France reported on Monday that it had suspended operations in Burkina Faso and Mali until August 11.
In response to a rising tide of anti-French protests, Niger’s new junta cancelled five military agreements with France that were signed between 1977 and 2020 last week. Some residents accused the former colonial power of interfering in their affairs.
A military pact that allowed French personnel to combat Islamist insurgencies affiliated with al Qaeda and the Islamic State was dissolved by Burkina Faso earlier this year. The military administration asserted that Ouagadougou would defend itself against militant threats on its own.
