Niger did not ask France to withdraw its troops, they were needed to fight terrorism, military-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zein said.
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At the end of September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the French military would leave Niger by the end of 2023. Earlier, the RFI radio station, citing the Niger armed forces, reported that France would complete the withdrawal of its military from Niger on December 22.
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“Perhaps this question should have been asked of the French, but we did not ask the French to withdraw their troops. They made a sovereign decision, when we really needed them to fight terrorism, to end our military cooperation,” Zein said.
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At the end of July, the Niger military, during a speech on national television, announced that President Mohamed Bazoum had been removed, the borders were closed, and a curfew had been declared. Before this, the military of the presidential guard blocked the presidential palace in the country’s capital, Niamey.
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Leaders of most Western countries and the regional organization ECOWAS condemned the coup. ECOWAS announced it was suspending financial aid to Niger, as well as imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on rebels, their families and anyone agreeing to take part in institutions created by the rebel military.
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Borders were also closed and commercial and financial transactions between the community countries and Niger were suspended. In early August, participants in an emergency meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the ECOWAS countries, held in Abuja, Nigeria, adopted a plan in the event of military intervention in Niger.
