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Sahel: France considering selective troop pullout from Niger
The French army is holding talks with Niger's military over withdrawing "elements" of its presence there following a coup, a defence ministry source said on Tuesday. There has been speculation that France will be forced into a full military pullout from Niger after...
Niger: France stills insists on restoring ousted president Bezoum
Niger's military regime fired a new verbal broadside at France on Friday, accusing Paris of "blatant interference" by backing the country's ousted president as protestors rallied near a French base outside the capital Niamey. President Mohamed Bazoum, a French ally...
Niger-France relations sour as pressure groups in Niger demand withdrawal of French troops
Thousands of demonstrators in Niger on Sunday held a third day of rallies calling for former colonial ruler France to withdraw its troops, as sought by the junta which seized power in July. "Down with France! France get out," the demonstrators chanted, repeating...
Niger: Anti-France sentiment spikes in Niger, tense weekend of protests ahead
Niger braced Friday for a weekend of planned anti-French rallies as tensions mount between the country's new military rulers and its traditional ally. A coalition of civil society groups opposed to the presence of French forces in Niger has called a three-day sit-in,...
Sahel: Niger wants French ambassador out
Niger's new military rulers have stripped France's ambassador of diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him, according to a letter seen Thursday by AFP, a move that ratchets up tensions with the country's traditional ally. The envoy "no longer enjoys the...
Sahel: Sanctions imposed against Niger to trigger catastrophic humanitarian crisis
The United Nations warned Tuesday that the political crisis in Niger and the sanctions imposed against the coup regime risk triggering "catastrophic" humanitarian effects. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said it had revised contingency planning for Niger since a...
Don’t expect Wagner to abandon Africa after Prigozhin’s announced death
Despite the reported death of the Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow has every interest in continuing his Wagner paramilitary group's activities in Africa, experts told AFP on Thursday. Russia has been outsourcing activities in Africa to Wagner since...
Algeria looking to ease tension in Sahel after Niger coup
Algeria's top diplomat began a tour of West African countries Wednesday in a bid to find a solution following the coup in neighbouring Niger, where Algiers opposes any military intervention. Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf was "mandated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune"...
Sahel: As political tensions persist, Niger population faces hardship
Floods this week have caused the death of 31 people in politically battered Niger, including eight following the collapse of dwellings and and 23 by drowning. On August 21, 2023, the General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC) said it recorded 88,516 victims...
Sahel: Political situation in Niger worsens with African Union suspending membership
By Aymeric Vincenot: The African Union said Tuesday that it had suspended Niger's membership in the wake of a military coup, but responded cautiously to a threatened military operation to restore its ousted president, as Nigerien TV said 12 soldiers were killed in a...
Niger crisis: Burkina Faso sides with Niger junta, suspends media for anti-Niger stance
Burkina Faso's junta-led government has suspended one of the country's most popular radio stations after it broadcast an interview deemed "insulting" to Niger's new military leaders. Radio Omega was immediately suspended on Thursday "until further notice,"...
Niger: Toppled president said to be “fine, given the situation”
Niger's detained president was seen by his doctor on Saturday, his entourage said, amid mounting concern for his condition, while West Africa's regional bloc scrapped a crisis meeting on the coup that deposed him. Mohamed Bazoum, 63, was toppled on July 26 by his...
Niger: ECOWAS walks away from early threat of using force to restore deposed president
West African leaders will make negotiations with the military leaders who have seized control in Niger the "bedrock" of its attempts to defuse the crisis, stepping back from a threat of military intervention to restore the elected government. "It is crucial that we...
Niger crisis: Algeria opposes military intervention in Niger
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the prsident of Niger's northern neighbor Algeria, told reporters on Saturday August 5, 2023, that his country opposes any military intervention in Niger. "Military intervention in Niger is a direct threat to Algeria and we categorically reject...
Niger: Thousands of coup supporters gather in Niamey stadium
Thousands of supporters of the military coup in Niger gathered at a Niamey stadium Sunday, when a deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to return the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to power is set to expire, according to AFP journalists. A delegation...
Nigerian president Tinubu under pressure to avoid war with northern neighbor Niger
By Camille Malpat with Aminu Abubakar in Kano, Nigeria: Political leaders in Nigeria are urging President Bola Tinubu to reconsider a threatened military intervention against junta leaders in neighbouring Niger, ahead of a Sunday deadline to reinstate the country's...
Brief: Nigeria cuts electricity to Niger after coup
Nigeria has cut its electricity supply to Niger after West African neighbours imposed sanctions on the junta that ousted the country's elected leader last week, a Niger power company source said on Wednesday. "Since yesterday, Nigeria has disconnected the high-voltage...
Niger: Coup leaders get popular support amid rising regional tensions
By Boureima Hama with Delphine Touitou: Thousands of people rallied Thursday in Niger's capital in support of the coup that toppled the democratically elected government, as security concerns mounted among Western nations. Demonstrators in the heart of Niamey, some...
Sahel: West African states getting stressed over coup in Niger, do not rule out military action
Senegal said Thursday that it will participate if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decides to intervene militarily in Niger following last week's coup. Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall told reporters during a government press briefing in the...
Niger: Nuclear industry in France seeks to appease concerns over Niger’s uranium
The military coup in Niger last week raises the question of Europe's dependency on uranium mined in the West African nation for its nuclear power plants. France's nuclear fuel firm Orano, formerly part of Areva, operates a uranium mine in the north of the country,...
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