French forces start to leave Niger

According to the new leaders of the African country, the first convoy left Niamey with local security escorting it in the direction of Chad.

According to the new authorities in the West African nation, France has started removing its troops from its bases there. Three flights carrying special forces personnel and equipment left Niamey on Tuesday.

Two of the special planes carried “97 special forces elements,” and the third was “dedicated to logistics,” according to a statement from the recently erected military administration that was carried by state media on Tuesday.

The first ground convoy of troops at Ouallam, a town in southwest Niger, reportedly left “towards Chad under escort” of the Nigerien Defence and Security Forces, according to the authorities, in addition to the departures by air.

The coup leaders claim that the pullout will proceed in accordance with a combined French-Nigerian withdrawal strategy, which includes a promise by the local armed forces to support French convoys retreating by land with security assistance.

The move was made following weeks of tense relations between Paris and the new authorities installed in the once French colony after the coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. Days after seizing power, the coup leaders asked that France evacuate its 1,500 troops from the nation and said that military cooperation accords with Paris were being suspended due to “external interference.”

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On President Emmanuel Macron’s order, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said last week that Paris would start removing troops from Niger. In September, Macron decided to halt military cooperation with the African nation after previously rejecting pressure from the military leaders, referring to them as “illegitimate” rulers. According to him, the French forces will depart Niamey “by the end of the year.”

In reaction to public unhappiness with the decade-long counter-insurgency mission in the Sahel region, French troops have also been ejected from Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which are governed by the military.

Despite the fact that there is a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres separating the Chadian city of N’Djamena from Niamey, France has already established a presence in the nation with some 1,000 soldiers. However, France has not formally verified the assertions of the Nigerien authorities that its personnel were being sent to Chad.

Evariste N’Garlem Tolde, a political expert, recently told RT that Chad, where anti-French sentiment is increasing, does not require the French troops to maintain its security.