France to withdraw troops from Niger, calls back ambassador

Africa, Europe, News September 26, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has announced a complete withdrawal of the French military from Niger by the end of 2023. He also said that France’s ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, would return from the mission.

In a televised interview on September 24, 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron said France has decided to withdraw its ambassador from Niger. “In the next hours, our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France.” In the same interview, Macron said that his administration has decided to withdraw the French forces that have been stationed in the northwestern African country.

Paris has been at odds with the military authorities of its former colony that took control of Niger after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum in a military coup. France had stationed its military contingents in the country to carry out anti-terrorism operations. France has some 1500 troops left in Niger.

“We are putting an end to our military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger because they don’t want to fight terrorism anymore,” Macron said regarding the military leaders who took over rule of the northwest African country. When asked about the timeline of withdrawal, he said that said there will not be any French soldiers in Niger by the end of 2023.

“They will come back in an orderly manner in the weeks and months to come, and for that, we will coordinate with the putschists because we want this to happen calmly,” he said.

French soldiers Africa — *^{French soldiers next to a military cargo aircraft. (Image Credit: AA/via Twitter)}*

Anti-French sentiment is on the rise in Niger following the military coup in July this year that Paris refused to recognize. French President Emmanuel Macron had been backing the country’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and refused to recognize the new military leadership that took over the power on July 26. Earlier this month, tens of thousands of protestors gathered outside a French military post in Niger’s capital Niamey, demanding a complete withdrawal of the former colonizer.

The French Ambassador Sylvain Itte remained in the country despite being given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country soon after the military takeover. Initially, Macron said he “applauds” Itte’s decision to stay in Niger despite the warnings, but now he has ordered the ambassador to come back.

Niger’s military coup

Following the country’s military takeover which started on July 26, soldiers detained Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum and seized power while General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the presidential guards, named himself the leader of Niger. Allegedly backed by Russia, Niger’s military takeover resonates with the same anti-Western and prominently anti-French sentiments seen in Mali.

Niger protest — *^{Thousands of protestors gathered in Niger demanding French forces’ withdrawal from the country. (Image Credit: AFP/Twitter)}*

Niger has gone through four successful military coups since its independence from France with the latest one being the fifth instalment. Bazoum’s inauguration in 2021 marked the first democratic transition of power since France’s colonial rule.

Political turmoil in West and Central Africa

Political unrest has taken over Africa’s francophone countries. The oil-rich country of Gabon became the eighth African country to undergo a military takeover in a span of three years. Unlike Niger and other countries from the Sahel region, Gabon lies further south on the Atlantic coast. The country is relatively more stable in terms of security situation and has not been subjected to Islamic radicalism as much as its northern neighbors.

The wave of military coups has also created more difficulties for France, which is one of the major stakeholders in the region being the former colonizer. France has about 350 troops in Gabon. Its forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after coups there in the last two years.