“The US presence on the territory of Niger is illegal and violates all constitutional and democratic rules…,” junta spokesman Amadou Abdramane said on national television. The agency reported on the events in the country BBC.
According to Reuters, there were around 1,100 American soldiers in the country of 28 million last year. The Americans have a large airbase in the former French colony from which they monitored the countries of the Sahel region (the region on the southern edge of the Sahara). The area has been plagued by terrorist actions by Islamist groups for years.
Niger strengthens ties with Moscow
Since taking power last July, Niger’s junta – like the military rulers in Mali and Burkina Faso – has dismissed French and other European forces and turned to Russia for support. Last December, junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine went to Moscow to discuss military and economic ties.
The Russians are strengthening their positions in Africa
In September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the withdrawal of French troops. He described the situation in Niger at the time as “unsustainable” as the coup plotters held the French ambassador hostage in the embassy for several weeks.
The military seized power in Niger last July when it detained the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, on the grounds that he was unable to deal with the country’s deteriorating security and economic situation. The former head of Bazoum’s presidential guard, Abdourahaman Tiani, became the head of the military junta.
The military coup in Niger has greatly alarmed Western powers as well as democratic African states for fear that it could lead to the further strengthening of jihadist groups in the Sahel region.
Niger is a former French colony that until last year was considered the West’s last reliable partner in the fight against jihadists in the region.
France throws in the towel in Niger, the ambassador and soldiers leave
