2023-09-05 15:24:34
Will the French army end up leaving Niger, as it had left Mali? According to Paris and Niamey, “exchanges” are underway for the withdrawal of certain French soldiers.
On Monday, during a press conference lasting more than an hour, the Nigerien Prime Minister appointed by the putschists Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine affirmed that the French forces were “in a position of illegality” in Niger and that the “exchanges which are in progress should allow their withdrawal very quickly.
On August 3, the generals who took power in a coup had denounced several military cooperation agreements with Paris, which has around 1,500 soldiers engaged in the anti-jihadist fight in Niger. One of these texts contained a notice of one month, according to them.
However, the new government hopes “if possible to maintain cooperation with a country with which we have shared a lot of things”.
“Discussions on the withdrawal of certain military elements have begun,” confirmed the French Ministry of the Armed Forces on Tuesday. But “the question of maintaining some of our forces arises”, according to the ministry, in particular the units responsible for maintaining equipment that has not been used on site for more than a month, such as drones, helicopters or fighter.
“Functional coordination exchanges exist locally between soldiers to facilitate the movement of French military resources immobilized since the suspension of anti-terrorist cooperation” after the coup, the minister’s entourage had indicated earlier, without specifying the nature of these “movements”, their extent or their unfolding.
Paris has so far ruled out a military withdrawal from Niger, where 1,500 soldiers and airmen are deployed at the planned Niamey air base as well as in Ouallam and Ayorou, alongside the Nigeriens, in the so-called “three borders” zone between the Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which serves as a sanctuary for jihadists from the Islamic State group.
The ambassador, “a person in an irregular situation”
Niger also withdrew the immunity and diplomatic visa of French Ambassador Sylvain Itté and demanded his expulsion. A decision that the Prime Minister justifies by the “contemptuous behavior” of the diplomat who refused to respond to an invitation to a meeting with the authorities on August 25.
“Do you think we’re going to send the police into the embassy?” It is an enclave that we recognize. But if he leaves, he is a person in an irregular situation, ”said Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine.
According to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the premises of an embassy are “inviolable” and agents of the state in which they are located are not permitted “to enter therein, except with the consent of the head of the mission”.
Hope for an agreement with ECOWAS
The head of government appointed by the military, who overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, also spoke of dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “We have not stopped discussions with ECOWAS. We are hopeful of reaching an agreement in a few days,” he said.
But the West African organization has not changed its position since the coup: it is calling for an “immediate” return to constitutional order, which requires the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and his reinstatement in office. The new authorities in Niamey are planning a transition of “three years maximum”.
ECOWAS has repeatedly threatened armed intervention and imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niger. “We expect at any time to be able to be attacked. All arrangements are made. It would be an unjust war. We are determined to defend ourselves, if ever there is an attack,” the Prime Minister continued.
China as a mediator?
On Thursday, the President of Nigeria, also at the head of ECOWAS, had opened the door to a possible short transition period. He cited as an example the nine-month transition that had been implemented in his country in 1999, seeing “no reason why this could not happen again in Niger, if the military authorities are sincere”.
China, through its ambassador in Niamey, indicated on Monday that it wanted to “play a mediating role” in the Niger crisis. “China always pursues the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs” and encourages African countries “to solve their problems in African ways”, Jiang Feng explained, after meeting with Ali. Mahaman Lamine Zeine.
On Monday, Niger also reopened its airspace for commercial flights.
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