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Niger: Military Rulers Order French Ambassador Out
Niger’s military rulers, who seized control of the government in July, gave the French ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, Niamey’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.
Relations between the new regime in Niamey and several Western powers, as well as the West African bloc ECOWAS, have deteriorated since the coup on July 26.
France’s government quickly rejected the order against its ambassador, repeating that it did not recognise the military rulers’ authority.
The French foreign ministry told AFP on Friday evening: “The putschists do not have the authority to make this request, the ambassador’s approval coming solely from the legitimate elected Nigerien authorities.”
The ultimatum against the French envoy comes days after ECOWAS threatened military action to reverse last month’s coup, which overthrew president Mohamed Bazoum.
Paris has repeatedly backed calls by ECOWAS for the reinstatement of Bazoum.
France has 1,500 soldiers based in Niger who had been helping Bazoum in the fight against jihadist forces that have been active in the country for years .
– Pressure from ECOWAS –
Earlier Friday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) urged Niger’s coup leaders to reconsider their position and pushed for a return to civilian rule, with the threat of force still “very much on the table”.
While the generals who ousted Bazoum have called for a three-year transition period, ECOWAS demands the immediate return to constitutional order.
With delegations shuttling into Niamey, ECOWAS said negotiations remained its priority as defence chiefs prepared a standby mission for a possible “legitimate use of force” to restore democracy if needed.
“Even now, it is not too late for the military to reconsider its action and listen to the voice of reason as the regional leaders will not condone a coup d’etat,” ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray told reporters in Abuja.
“The real issue is the determination of the community to halt the spiral of coup d’etats in the region.”
ECOWAS has already applied sanctions against Niger to pressure the new regime.
Three other governments have fallen to military rebellions in the Sahel region since 2020, and jihadists control swathes of territory.
ECOWAS leaders are already negotiating with military administrations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea who are all working towards transitions to democracy after their own coups.
After initially balking, Niger’s new rulers have said they remain open to negotiations.
But they have sent mixed messages, including a threat to charge Bazoum — who remains detained at his official residence with his family — with treason.
– Aggression –
Niger’s military leaders have also warned against any intervention, accusing ECOWAS of preparing an occupying force in league with an unnamed foreign country.
The officers on Thursday said they would let troops from neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso intervene in Niger in case of an aggression.
But Touray dismissed plans for ECOWAS “declaring war” or an “invasion” of Niger, insisting the standby mission would be a legitimate force allowed under ECOWAS statutes agreed by members.
“The instruments include the use of force. So it is very much on the table, as are other measures we are working on,” he said.
“If peaceful means fail, ECOWAS cannot just fold its hands.”
ECOWAS has intervened militarily in past crises, including in civil wars. Few details of the new standby force have emerged.
But preparations for any possible use of military force in Niger are risky and already face political resistance in northern Nigeria, a key player in ECOWAS and the region.
Niger’s northern neighbour Algeria has also warned of disastrous consequences for the region from an intervention.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf this week toured West African countries to try to find a solution to a crisis in which Algiers firmly opposes any military option.
“There is a time for everything and we are currently in the time of finding peaceful solutions,” he said on a visit to Benin.
“Let’s put all our imagination into giving every chance to a political solution.”
Chad announced Thursday that it was ending military cooperation with former colonial power France, just hours after a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
“The government of the Republic of Chad informs national and international opinion of its decision to end the accord in the field of defence signed with the French Republic,” foreign minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement on Facebook.
Chad is a key link in France’s military presence in Africa, constituting Paris’s last foothold in the Sahel after the forced withdrawal of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
“This is not a break with France like Niger or elsewhere,” Koulamallah, whose country still hosts around a thousand French troops, told AFP.
At a press briefing after a meeting between President Mahamat Idriss Deby and Barrot, Koulamallah called France “an essential partner” but added it “must now also consider that Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state that is very jealous of its sovereignty”.
Barrot, who arrived in Ethiopia on Thursday evening, could not immediately be reached for comment.
– ‘Historic turning point’-
Chad is the last Sahel country to host French troops.
It has been led by Deby since 2021, when his father Idriss Deby Itno was killed by rebels after 30 years in power.
The elder Deby frequently relied on French military support to fend off rebel offensives, including in 2008 and 2019.
It borders the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger, all of which host Russian paramilitary forces from the Wagner group.
Deby has sought closer ties with Moscow in recent months, but talks to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia have yet to bear concrete results.
Koulamallah called the decision to end military cooperation a “historic turning point”, adding it was made after “in-depth analysis”.
“Chad, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement, undertakes to respect the terms laid down for its termination, including the notice period”, he said in the statement, which did not give a date for the withdrawal of French troops.
The announcement comes just days after Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye indicated in an interview with AFP that France should close its military bases in that country.
“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” Faye told AFP on Thursday.
The House of Representatives has confirmed the appointment of Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
While the constitution does not make provision for confirmation of appointments by the House of Representatives, the lawmaker adopted a report of its ad–hoc committee on the confirmation/screening of the Acting Chief of Army Staff and Thursday, confirmed the appointment of Lieutenant General Oluyede as the Chief of Army Staff.
Chairman of the committee Babajimi Benson in presenting the report, said Lt. Gen. Oluyede had satisfied all requirements.
Several members of Donald Trump’s incoming administration have received threats including bomb alerts, the FBI said Wednesday, with one nominee reporting a pipe-bomb scare sent with a pro-Palestinian message.
“The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners,” the agency said in a statement.
Swatting refers to the practice in which police are summoned urgently to someone’s house under false pretenses. Such hoax calls are common in the United States and have seen numerous senior political figures targeted in recent years.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, earlier said that several appointees and nominees “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them.”
Elise Stefanik, a Trump loyalist congresswoman tapped to be UN ambassador, said her residence in New York was targeted in a bomb threat.
She said in a statement that she, her husband, and small son were driving home from Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday when they learned of the threat.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said his home was targeted with a pipe bomb threat sent with a “pro-Palestinian themed message.”
The former congressman from New York said he and his family were not home at the time.
Fox News Digital quoted unidentified sources saying that John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary pick, were also targeted.
Ahead of his return to the House in January, Trump has already swiftly assembled a cabinet of loyalists, including several criticized for a severe lack of experience.
The Republican, who appears set to avoid trial on criminal prosecutions related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, was wounded in the ear in July in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally. The shooter was killed in counter-fire.
In September, authorities arrested another man accused of planning to shoot at Trump while he played golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida
