The Niger military administration has leveled accusations against France, alleging that it is amassing troops and war equipment in neighboring West African countries, suggesting preparations for a potential aggression against Niger.
Relations between Niger and France, its former colonial power, deteriorated after Paris sided with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum following the July coup.
In a statement aired on national television late Saturday, Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, the spokesperson for the junta, stated, “France is persistently deploying its forces in several ECOWAS countries as part of its alleged plans for an aggression against Niger, purportedly in collaboration with this regional organization.”
Abdramane further disclosed that France had dispatched military aircraft, helicopters, and 40 armored vehicles to Cote d’Ivoire and Benin.
He added, “Military cargo aircraft have facilitated the delivery of substantial quantities of war materials and equipment to Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, and other destinations.”
Meanwhile, Niger finds itself entangled in a standoff with the West African bloc ECOWAS, which has threatened military intervention if diplomatic efforts to reinstate Bazoum fail.
However, ECOWAS has expressed its desire to avoid a repeat of the situations seen in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, where negotiations over transition periods proved challenging.
On August 3, the coup leaders announced the annulment of several military cooperation agreements with France, which maintains around 1,500 soldiers stationed in Niger as part of its broader anti-militant efforts.
They argue that France’s presence is now “illegitimate” in Niger.
Paris, refusing to acknowledge the military regime in Niger, does not consider the mutinous soldiers who ousted President Bazoum as parties to these cooperation agreements.
France and Niger remain locked in a diplomatic dispute, with Niger withdrawing the diplomatic immunity of French ambassador Sylvain Itte and ordering his expulsion.
France has repeatedly rejected this demand, asserting that the military regime lacks the legal authority to issue such an order.
