European residents are being evacuated from Niger by France and Italy as a result of anti-French sentiment following the most recent coup. Following the coup, there have been protests against the former colonial authority, and the French embassy has even been attacked.
Regarding the roughly 1,000 French soldiers stationed there as part of operations to combat Islamist militants, France has no plans to send them home. As Italy organized a flight with 87 evacuees, Germany pushed its citizens to accept France’s invitation to assist other Europeans.
Niger coup
Burkina Faso and Mali’s juntas have issued warnings that any attempt to forcibly return the deposed president would be interpreted as a declaration of war.
The two neighbors, who were also once French possessions, have both turned away from France and toward Russia in recent years after carrying out their coups. This warning heralds a critical turning point that can worsen the tense circumstance in a territory fighting an Islamist militant insurgency.
- European residents evacuated from Niger due to anti-French sentiment.
- Burkina Faso and Mali warn against forcibly returning the deposed president.
- West likely to lose crucial anti-terror outposts in civil war.
The uranium-rich nation of Niger has been a crucial ally of the West in the war against Islamic extremism in the Sahel. There are military outposts for both France and the US. People are unable to escape on their own due to the closure of Niger’s airspace.
There are less than 100 Germans in Niger and an estimated 600 French citizens. Out of the roughly 500 Italians who reside nationwide, according to the Italian foreign ministry, about 90 are in Niamey, with the majority serving in the armed forces. More than 70 Spaniards will be airlifted out of the country by Spain.
A civil war would almost surely result from a military intervention by the West, and the West appears destined to lose its strategically important anti-terror outposts there.
Following the present exodus of French people, US and French military bases are expected to be abandoned, along with the 2,500 soldiers who have been assisting Niger in its war against jihadist rebels.
