PARIS (AP) \u2014 President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed the democratically elected president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Niger\u2019s junta said in response that the announcement signals a \u201cnew step towards the sovereignty\u201d of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cImperialist and neo-colonialist forces are no longer welcome on our national territory. The new era of cooperation, based on mutual respect and sovereignty is already underway,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement was a significant, if expected, blow to France\u2019s policy in Africa, with French troops having had to pull out of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years after coups there. France had stationed thousands of troops in the Sahel region at the request of African leaders to fight Islamic extremist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France has maintained some 1,500 troops in Niger since the July coup, and had repeatedly refused an order by the new junta for its ambassador to leave, saying that France didn\u2019t recognize the coup leaders as legitimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But tensions had mounted in recent weeks between France and Niger, a former French colony, and Macron said recently that French diplomats were surviving on military rations as they holed up in the embassy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron\u2019s announcement came after the coup leaders issued a statement earlier Sunday that they were closing Niger\u2019s airspace to French planes, commercial and military, so that the new leadership could \u201cretake total control of its skies and its territory.\u2033 The decision did not apply to other international aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ali Sekou Ramadan, an aide to Niger\u2019s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, told The Associated Press that Bazoum requested that Macron withdraw the French ambassador, Sylvain Itte, \u201cin order to reduce tension.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with the France-2 and TF1 television networks, Macron said he spoke to Bazoum on Sunday and told him that \u201cFrance has decided to bring back its ambassador, and in the coming hours our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, \u201cAnd we will put an end to our military cooperation with the Niger authorities because they don\u2019t want to fight against terrorism anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the troops would be gradually pulled out, likely by the end of the year, in coordination with the coup leaders \u2018\u2019because we want it to take place peacefully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said France\u2019s military presence was in response to a request from Niger\u2019s government at the time. That military cooperation between France and Niger had been suspended since the coup, however. The junta leaders claimed Bazoum\u2019s government wasn\u2019t doing enough to protect the country from the insurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The junta is now under sanctions by Western and regional African powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who assists Niger\u2019s new military rulers with their communications, said they would continue to monitor developments until the French ambassador leaves the country. He also demanded a clear deadline for the withdrawal of the French troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis announcement from the French president announces the victory of the people of Niger. However, we are going to take it with a lot of reservation because I no longer believe in Mr. Macron,\u201d said Saidou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The junta in August\u00a0gave the French ambassador 48 hours to leave. After the deadline expired without France recalling him, the coup leaders then\u00a0revoked his diplomatic immunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In New York on Friday, the military government that seized power in Niger accused U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of obstructing the West African nation\u2019s full participation at the U.N.\u2019s annual meeting of world leaders in order to appease France and its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts say that after repeated military interventions in its former colonies in recent decades, the era of France as Africa\u2019s \u201cgendarme\u201d may finally be over, as the continent\u2019s priorities shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute, a think tank, said the decision marks both an acceptance of a \u201charsh reality for France in the region and may possibly put some limits on the U.S. deployments in Niger, though as we have seen, the U.S. and France have not followed exactly the same positionings in Niger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, said Niger will feel the loss of French support in its fight against violent extremist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrance has been a reliable partner providing support to its operations and Niger simply doesn\u2019t have an alternative to fill this void by the French, at least in short and mid term,\u201d Lyammouri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron last year\u00a0withdrew French troops from Mali\u00a0following tensions with the ruling junta after a 2020 coup, and more recently from Burkina Faso, for similar reasons. Both African countries had asked for the French forces to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France also\u00a0suspended military operations\u00a0with Central African Republic, accusing its government of failing to stop a \u201cmassive\u201d anti-French disinformation campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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