2023-08-05 21:14:42
Time.news – “Flight KC 767 took off from Niamey for Pratica di Mare with 65 soldiers from the national contingent and 10 US soldiers”. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on Twitter, adding that “to date, 254 Italian soldiers remain in Niamey. Further flights are planned for next week”.
France took away 1,000 people from Niger, including 500 non-French, including “many Italians”. This is what Time.news learns from French diplomatic sources. The operation, it is explained, is similar to the one carried out in Sudan. Paris also said it “firmly and resolutely” supported efforts by West African bloc ECOWAS to reinstate Niger’s president-elect after a military coup. “The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake“, said the French Foreign Ministry Catherine Colonna in a statement on the eve of the expiry of the deadline set by ECOWAS, which says she is ready to intervene militarily if the president is not reinstated.
The future of Niger and the stability of the region “depend on the failure of the July 26 coup d’état,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement. A document which tells of the meeting between Minister Colonna and the Nigerien Prime Minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, to whom he reaffirmed Paris’ “full support” for the constitutional president, Mohamed Bazoum, held by the coup plotters.
In a radio interview, Colonna had said that the putschists in Niger should take the threat of an African military intervention “very seriously”. to restore Bazoum to power. The minister underlined that the chiefs of staff of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) yesterday concluded a meeting to prepare an intervention plan in the event that the heads of state of the group decide to undertake a military action.
“Many of these countries have strong armies and have made it known that they are ready to intervene,” added Colonna. The French minister added that the Nigerien military who staged the coup “would do well to take the threat of military intervention by a regional force very seriously”.
When asked about the possibility of France sending aid for a hypothetical military intervention, he replied: “We are not there”, but said that France supports military intervention. But he assured that France “fully supports” the efforts of the countries of the region to restore democracy in Niger.
Four countries so far (Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin) have announced their intention to participate in a possible intervention. However, the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which came to power after coups in 2022, have said they would consider an intervention a “declaration of war” and have assured that in the event of external intervention they will support the coup plotters with troops of Niger, a country with which they border.
Putschists ask Wagner for help
The military junta which took office in Niger and which is now threatened by military intervention by the organization that brings together the countries of West Africa, has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner: the Associated Press agency reports, which cites a analyst, in the hours in which the countdown began (the Ecowas ultimatum expires on Sunday).
The request was made by one of the coup leaders, General Salifou Mody, who went to neighboring Mali, where he made contact with someone from Wagner, Wassim Nasr, journalist and researcher at the Soufan Center told the PA; the source added that three Malian sources and a French diplomat confirmed the meeting, which France 24 had already mentioned.
“They need Wagner because he will become their guarantee to stay in power”he explained, adding that the group is considering the request.
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