Thousands protest in Niger demanding withdrawal of French forces after military coup

Africa, News September 4, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Tens of thousands of protestors gathered outside a French military post in Niger’s capital Niamey, demanding a completer withdrawal of the former colonizer. Anti-French sentiment is on the rise in Niger following the military coup in July this year, that Paris refused to recognize.

Protestors started gathering outside the French military base on September 2, 2023. The protestors were holding banners calling for the French army to leave. The West African country’s new military rulers have accused the former colonial power of “interference” in Niger’s internal affairs.

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.

The French Ambassador Sylvain Itte remained in the country despite being given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country more than two weeks ago. Macron said he “applauds” Itte’s decision to stay in Niger despite the warnings.

The military base houses more than 1,500 French military personnel. The Nigerian military has been trying to contain the protestors outside the military base and warned the protestors against forceful entry and about the repercussions that would follow.

Nigeriens protest — ^{Thousands of Nigeriens gather in front of the French army headquarter, in support of the putschist soldiers and to demand the French army to leave, in Niamey, Niger, on September 2, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Mahamadou Hamidou)}

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 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.

Following the coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional economic and political bloc, issued a statement calling Bazoum’s detention a “hostage situation” and calling for his reinstatement. ECOWAS has also imposed several sanctions on Niger immediately after the military takeover.

*^{Thousands of anti-sanctions protestors gather in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger, on August 3, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Mahamadou Hamidou)}*

“The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security. “There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite.”

Political turmoil in West and Central Africa

Political unrest has taken over Africa’s francophone countries. Last week, oil-rich 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.