France Withdraws Ambassador, Troops From Niger After Coup; Impact On Christians Unclear

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NIAMEY (Worthy News) – French President Emmanuel Macron said France would withdraw its ambassador and end all military cooperation with Niger following a coup in a move welcomed by the military junta leaders.

“This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger,” said the junta which took power in July.

President Macron said France decided “to withdraw its ambassador in the next hours” and added that several diplomats will also return to France.

There are about 1,500 French soldiers in the landlocked West African country, but Macron stressed that military cooperation was “over” and that they would leave in “the months to come.”

The decision by Paris follows months of animosity and protests against the French presence in the country, with regular rallies in the capital, Niamey.

The move deals a blow to France’s operations against Islamist militants in the wider Sahel region and Paris’ influence there. But Macron said France would “not be held hostage by the putschists,” speaking to France’s TF1 and France 2 television stations.

Macron said he still regarded ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, currently held prisoner by the coup leaders, as the country’s “sole legitimate authority” and had informed him of his decision. He described the deposed president as a “hostage.”

COUP D’ETAT

“He was targeted by this coup d’etat because he was carrying out courageous reforms and because there was a largely ethnic settling of scores and a lot of political cowardice,” he said.

The regional Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), supported by France, has threatened military intervention in Niger to reinstate Bazoum but so far failed to act.

It wasn’t clear what impact the withdrawal of France would have on Christians and others suffering under Islamic extremism in the Sahel region, which besides Niger also includes Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad.

A research analyst of advocacy group Open Doors’ annual World Watch List of 50 nations where Christians reportedly face the most persecution has expressed concern.

“The Sahel is arguably one of the most dangerous – and at the same time, most neglected – regions worldwide. It has become a safe haven for violent Islamic militants, drug cartels, and human traffickers (using the region as a useful transportation route),” explained the researcher Yonas Dembele. “Above all, it is a region where Christians are particularly vulnerable and face high levels of insecurity.”

There were also worries Sunday about broader economic repercussions for France and the wider European Union.

Uranium is the most important commodity in the Islamic Sahel state, and France, the former colonial power in Niger, is in a particularly tight spot.

NUCLEAR PLANTS

Around two-thirds of its electricity comes from nuclear power plants powered by uranium sourced in Niger. It also exports electricity to other countries in Europe that have no nuclear plants of their own.

And with the sanctions against Russia continuing over its war in Ukraine, the EU needs countries such as Niger as it searches for alternative energy resources.

However, the military junta under General Abdourahamane Tiani has claimed France showed colonial attitudes towards Niger, robbing the nation of its natural resources, charges Paris denies.

When it took power, the junta ordered a halt to uranium exports and later gave the French envoy 48 hours to leave. Ambassador Sylvain Itte stayed on in Niamey in part because France did not want to lose its influence or supply of raw materials, analysts say.

“Everyone in Niger feels this partnership is very unequal,” said Mahaman Laouan Gaya, a former Nigerien energy minister and the Organization of African Petroleum Producers (APPO) secretary general until 2020 in published comments.

Gaya cited what he said were significant inconsistencies. In a statement to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, he wrote that Niger exported uranium worth 3.5 billion euro ($3.8 billion) to France in 2010 but received only 459 million euros in return.

Niger is one of several former French colonies in West Africa where the military has recently seized control after Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Chad. The latest coup in Africa was in Gabon last month.

There have also been concerns in the West over the growing role in the Sahel of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group despite the death of its prominent leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in an August 23 plane crash in Russia. The group has been responsible for human rights abuses and helped several new military regimes, according to rights investigators and other sources.

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