Staff Writer
Concerned that they would be caught up in a military coup that received support from three other West African countries also dominated by mutinous soldiers, France, Italy, and Spain stated Tuesday that their citizens and other European nationals would be evacuated from Niger.
By late Tuesday afternoon, two unarmed French military transport planes that had taken off from southern France had landed in Niamey’s airport, and a third was anticipated, according to the French Joint Defense staff.
The amount of evacuees they will transport wasn’t known as of yet.
One of the justifications given by France’s Foreign Ministry for its choice to provide evacuation flights to several hundred of its citizens and other Europeans was recent violence that targeted its mission in Niamey, the country’s capital.
The defense ministry of Spain revealed plans to evacuate more than 70 citizens, and the aviation ministry of Italy stated it was organizing a flight.
The foreign ministry of Germany advised its residents in Niger to determine whether their stay is required and, if not, to “take the next available opportunity to leave.”
The evacuations take place amid a worsening situation brought on by the coup last week against Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president of Niger.
For Western countries that were collaborating with Niger to fight West African jihadists, his apparent ouster is a setback.
On Sunday, the ECOWAS regional organization in West Africa issued travel and economic sanctions against Niger and threatened to use force if the coup leaders did not restore Bazoum within a week.
All business and financial dealings between ECOWAS members and Niger have been halted, and all Niger-related assets held by regional central banks have been frozen.
Foreign aid is mainly reliant on Niger, and sanctions may make its more than 25 million citizens even poorer.
Niger, which was a French colony until 1960, has recently received military assistance and hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian relief from both the United States and France.
If the coup is successful, the United States may decide to reduce help, the State Department stated on Monday. According to department spokesman Matt Miller, the fate of aid is “very much in the balance depending on the outcome of the actions in the country.” “Continued democratic rule in Niger is a condition for continued U.S. assistance.”
