US prepares to withdraw troops from Chad and Niger
The US is preparing to negotiate with the military leadership in Niger about the "organized and responsible withdrawal" of its troops from the country.
The US is preparing to negotiate with the military leadership in Niger about the "organized and responsible withdrawal" of its troops from the country.
French Ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, said on Friday in the letter that since the coup and the violent attack in July, the French embassy has not been able to carry out the full range of functions
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing on Friday that the Indian government is closely monitoring the situation.
Niger's military junta has indefinitely shut the country's airspace until further notice after a regional bloc warned it could use force if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated, the media reported on Monday.
Speaking on the current situation in coup-hit Niger and the ouster of the President of the West African nation, Mohamed Bazoum, the United States on Tuesday (local time) said that he is a democratically elected leader and all of the work at present is to see him "restored". During a regular State Department press briefing, spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "I don't want to go into hypotheticals because that is an outcome that we hope is not fulfilled.
Coups are not new to west and central Africa; the military takeover of power in Niger last week is the seventh such event in the region since 2020. But the latest, which saw the overthrow of Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum by the commander of his presidential guard Abdourehamane Tchiani, is important in that it is seen as a blow to Western efforts to tackle Islamic insurgency, and judging from some responses may emerge as another chapter in the proxy war between Western countries and Russia-backed mercenaries.
Francophone West Africa has for several years been beset by an Islamist insurgency that nations such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have failed to repel, despite international assistance.
The attack happened in the same region Tillaberi, also bordering Burkina Faso, where 71 Niger soldiers were killed in a December attack, claimed by the Islamic State group.
The grant assistance was symbolically handed over to Niger Deputy Foreign Minister Lamido Ousseini Bala Goga Salamatou by Indian Ambassador Rajesh Agarwal at a ceremony in Niamey, the External Affairs Ministry said.
At least 10 civilians have been killed in a possible jihadist attack in Mali's northeast, close to the border with Niger, according to armed Touareg groups and local authorities.
