The United States indicated on Monday that it was evaluating the different options concerning the future of its military presence in Niger, the day after France’s announcement of the withdrawal of its troops, a decision awaited for several weeks by Niamey.
“While giving diplomacy a chance, we will also continue to study any future steps that prioritize both our diplomatic and security objectives,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a press conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, where he is visiting.
Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron announced the return to Paris of the French ambassador to Niamey, Sylvain Itté, “in the coming hours”, and the withdrawal from Niger of the 1,500 French troops based in the country by the end of the year, two demands from the military who took power on July 26.
No particular movement suggesting a departure of Mr. Itté has been observed since Sunday evening around the embassy in Niamey.
Mr. Macron also announced that France was ending “its military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger, because they no longer want to fight against terrorism.”
During a press conference Monday evening, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, clarified that Paris also maintained its “support” for Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown by the July coup, and its will of “a return of constitutional order to Niger, in full support of the efforts of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)”.
In Nairobi, the American Secretary of Defense refused to comment on the Paris announcements.
The United States has some 1,100 soldiers stationed in Niger, engaged against jihadist groups active in this region.
“We have not made any significant changes to the positioning of our forces and (…) we really want a diplomatic solution, a peaceful outcome,” assured Mr. Austin.
The Pentagon announced on September 7 that it was repositioning its troops “as a precaution,” transferring some soldiers from a base in the capital Niamey to an air base further north, in the Agadez region.
“We will study the consequences of the withdrawal of French troops from Niger but for the moment, we are focusing on continuing” this repositioning, said Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson.
The United States indicated on September 14 that it was resuming its surveillance flights over Niger, which it had interrupted after the coup, with the rest of its military operations in the country remaining frozen.
The Nigerien capital Niamey was calm on Monday the day after Emmanuel Macron’s announcement: no demonstrations were planned in the city where residents circulated normally.
Soldiers, weapons in hand, took up positions in front of the French embassy compound. Military vehicles are also parked there.
Monday afternoon, the Franco-Beninese pan-Africanist activist Kemi Seba, known for his very virulent positions against the “neo-colonialism” of Western powers in Africa, arrived at Niamey airport where he will stay for a few days. .
“The people of Niger have asked that the French army leave as soon as possible. Macron in his colonial arrogance says that the French army will leave by the end of the year as if it were his to decide when the settler should pack up,” he said upon his arrival.
The announcement of the departure of French troops was welcomed by several Nigeriens interviewed in the streets of the capital where several demonstrations hostile to the French presence have brought together tens of thousands of people in recent weeks.
“The French soldiers must immediately leave (the country) since we really don’t need them,” Marzouk Doulla told AFP, in the popular district of Yantala, close to the French embassy. “They say they are helping us” but “we haven’t seen any change.”
A point of view shared by another resident, Abdoulkari Hassane Maikano. “It has been a long time since France brought its army here to Niger but they have not been able to eradicate terrorism,” he laments.
The military in power in Niamey celebrated “a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger” on Sunday evening.
25/09/2023 21:22:31 – Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP