The military of Niger claims that France has gathered personnel and supplies in a number of West African nations in preparation for a “military intervention” against Niamey.
On national television late on Saturday, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the coup leaders in Niger, made the assertion.
In order to “make preparations for an aggression against Niger, which it is planning in collaboration with this community organisation,” he claimed that France was still stationing troops in ECOWAS member nations.
French “military cargo aircraft have enabled large quantities of war material and equipment to be unloaded in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin, to name but a few”, he said.
In the wake of a military coup on July 26, tensions between Niger and France, its former colonial power, have risen.
In response to Niger’s demands that its troops and envoy leave the Sahel state, Paris has supported ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and refused such requests.
The ECOWAS bloc, which has threatened to act militarily if diplomatic pressure to reinstate Bazoum as president fails, and Niger are both involved in a deadlock.
A military base in Niamey that houses French soldiers has been the focus of nearly daily protests by thousands of locals calling for their evacuation. As part of a larger campaign against organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), France has roughly 1,500 soldiers in the nation.
The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that Paris was in discussions with the military about removing “elements” of its mission in Niger amid the tensions. It quoted a source from the French defence ministry.
According to Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, who was chosen by the military, talks regarding a “very swift” withdrawal of France’s troops are also in progress.
On Monday, Zeine stated that his country wished “to maintain cooperation with a country with which we have shared a great deal” and that he was “hopeful” that an agreement could be reached with ECOWAS.
According to the US Department of Defense, the US, which has roughly 1,100 soldiers in Niger, has started to move its troops from Niamey to the country’s capital city of Agadez.
