A French soldier, assigned to the Operation Mentor Liaison Team, conducts communication checks, with rest of his team, prior to departing an Afghanistan National Police station, in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. 1st Class Richard W. Jones Jr./Released)
France is gathering forces and equipment in several West African countries with a view to launch a “military intervention” against Niger, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for Niger’s military rulers, said on national television late on September 9.
According to the commander, France continues to deploy its forces in member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as “part of preparations for an aggression against Niger, which it is planning in collaboration with this community organization”.
French “military cargo aircraft have enabled large quantities of war material and equipment to be unloaded in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin, to name but a few”, he said.
Tensions between France and Niger’s military has been on the rise since President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown last July,
Paris has stood by deposed President Bazoum and refused to comply with Niger’s demands to remove its troops and envoy from the Sahel state. It also supported plans by the ECOWAS to launch a military intervention in Niger.
A wave of anti-French sentiment followed the military takeover in Niger, with some locals accusing the European country of interfering in their affairs.
Up to 1,500 French troops are still stationed in Niger. Near the capital, Niamey, thousands of people have been holding near-daily demonstrations around a military base housing French troops to demand their departure.
Earlier this month, Paris warned that it will respond to any attack against its military and diplomatic facilities in the country after its ambassador was asked to leave.
Doubling down on his current stance, President Emmanuel Macron said on September 10 that if France ever had to redeploy troops in Niger, it would only do so in coordination with Bazoum, the only leader of the country that France recognises.
“If we ever redeploy… I would do so only at the request of President Bazoum,” Macron told a news conference at the close of a two-day summit of G20 leaders in India.
The United States, who has been backing both France and the ECOWAS, announced just a few days ago that it had withdrawn some of its 1,1000 troops from Niger and repositioned others within the country.
The move came after the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service revealed that Washington was considering the possibility of physically eliminating the leaders of Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, who led the military takeover.
Recent developments suggest that ECOWAS could launch an intervention in Niger with direct support from France and the U.S. This could lead to a major conflict in West Africa, especially considering that several states like Mali and Burkina Faso are standing beside the country’s new military rulers.
