The last French military personnel will leave Niger on Friday
The last French military personnel stationed in Niger to fight terrorism will leave the country on Friday as part of the withdrawal of the French contingent of about 1,500 troops that began in October.
The presence of the French military in Niger has been governed by a series of military co-operation agreements, the first of which dates back to 2012. Meanwhile, in 2022, President Mohamed Bazoum, following the withdrawal of the French military from Mali, asked Paris to deploy an additional contingent in western Niger to combat terrorist hotbeds.
On 26 July, a group of military officers from the presidential guard mutinied in Niger and announced the ouster of President Bazoum. A National Council for the Defence of the Fatherland was formed to govern the country, headed by Guard Commander Abdurahmane Tchiani. As early as 10 August, Tchiani signed a decree to form a transitional government.
The rebels demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador and announced the denunciation of military agreements with France, demanding the withdrawal of its troops. France repeatedly stated that it would only recognise the demands of the legitimate authorities of Niger, but in late September it decided to recall the Ambassador.
At the same time, in late September, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the French military would leave Niger by the end of 2023.
The withdrawal began at the end of October: units of the French military handed over to the control of the army of Niger a military camp in the town of Oualam (Tillabéry region) in a strategically important zone on the border with Mali. French media reported that the first French military troops to leave Niger had arrived in Chad.
The date of 22 December as the day the French withdrawal was completed was announced by the Armed Forces of Niger; on 13 December, the army reported that only 157 French soldiers remained in Niger.
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