France, Italy prepare to evacuate citizens after Niger coup

Niamey, Niger (AFP):

France and Italy have begun to prepare to fly out their citizens and other Europeans from Niger, six days after a coup that toppled one of the last pro-Western leaders in the Sahel.

President Mohamed Bazoum — a staunch ally of France and other Western countries — was overthrown on July 26 by his own guard, in the region’s third putsch in as many years following takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.

After crowds gathered on Sunday outside the French embassy protesting against French involvement in the country and its exploitation of the uranium-rich former colony, France has announced its gradual withdrawal. It has also offered to evacuate other Europeans in the country. Niger accuses France of plotting to intervene militarily to prevent the coup.

“In the face of a deteriorating security situation in Niamey and taking advantage of the relative calm in Niamey, an operation of evacuation by air is being prepared,” the embassy said in a message sent to French citizens.

The evacuations “will take place very soon in a very limited span of time,” it said.

A first plane later took off from Paris, said a source in France involved in the operation. Another source said France would be using unarmed military transporters, capable of taking more than 200 people.

The French foreign ministry said there were an estimated 600 French nationals in Niger but did not give details on how many wished to leave.

In Rome, the Italian government said it was putting on a “special flight for those (Italians) who want to leave the country,” adding that this was “not an evacuation”. Around 90 Italian nationals were in Niamey, out of nearly 500 across the country, it said.

The West African bloc ECOWAS on Sunday slapped sanctions on Niger and warned it may use force as it gave the coup leaders a week to reinstate Bazoum.

The following day, the junta accused France of seeking to “intervene militarily”, a charge which drew a French denial, while junta-ruled Mali and Burkina Faso warned any military intervention in Niger by France would be a “declaration of war” against them.

Alarm 

The coup has triggered alarm bells in Western countries struggling to contain an insurgency against Western intervention and exploitation of Africa. The insurgency involving radical groups flared in northern Mali in 2012, advanced into Niger and Burkina Faso three years later and is now at the borders of fragile states on the Gulf of Guinea.

Former colonial power France had at one point around 5,400 troops in its so-called “anti-jihadist” Barkhane mission across the Sahel, supported by fighter jets, helicopters and drones. It had a heavy military presence in the region, actively and militarily intervening in local politics in order to protect its economic interests.

Niger has enormous uranium reserves which have been exploited by France for over half a century.

Following public outcry and opposition from military juntas, France finally pulled out of Mali and Burkina Faso.

Today, the reconfigured French force has around 1,500 men, many of them deployed at a major air base near Niamey, while the United States, which also has an important air base in Niger, has around 1,100 personnel.

Anti-France protests 

In all three Sahel countries, the pattern has been of military leaders intervening against pro-Western governments often accused of corruption and serving the interests of foreign neo-imperialist powers.

The takeovers have been accompanied by nationalist rhetoric and strident anti-French demonstrations.

The Malian junta has forged closer ties with Moscow as opposed to France, bringing in Russian military hardware and paramilitaries that Western nations allege are Wagner mercenaries.