PARIS (AFP) – France will begin evacuating its nationals from Niger, the Foreign Ministry said, after a coup there last week toppled the country’s pro-Western leader.
The decision to move citizens out was prompted by attacks on the French embassy in Niamey, and the closure of Niger’s airspace which made regular departures impossible, the ministry said in a statement.
France said that it was preparing an evacuation “in the face of a deteriorating security situation in Niamey” but gave no time frame.
The Foreign Ministry said France was offering to evacuate other European nationals wanting to leave.
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by his own presidential guard in a third coup in as many years in the Sahel, following putsches in neighbouring fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso. Former colonial power France and the United States have between them deployed 2,600 soldiers in Niger to battle extremists.
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed “immediate and uncompromising” action if French citizens or interests were attacked, after thousands rallied outside the French embassy in Niamey.
