NIAMEY, Niger: Niger’s military regime, which took power in July, accused France of deploying forces in several West African countries with a view to “military intervention.”
“France continues to deploy its forces in several ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries as part of preparations for an aggression against Niger, which it is planning in collaboration with this community organization,” regime spokesman Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said in a statement broadcast on national television on Saturday.
Relations with France, Niger’s former colonial power, degraded swiftly after Paris stood by ousted president Mohamed Bazoum following the July coup.
The Sahel state is also embroiled in a standoff with the West African bloc ECOWAS, which has threatened to intervene militarily if diplomatic pressure to return Bazoum to office fails.
On August 3, Niger’s coup leaders renounced several military cooperation agreements with France, which has about 1,500 soldiers stationed in the country as part of a wider fight against jihadists.
On Tuesday, a Paris defense ministry source told AFP the French army was in talks with the military regime over withdrawing “elements” of its presence in Niger.
On September 1, the regime said its chief of staff had “received the commander of French forces in the Sahel... to discuss a plan for the disengagement of French military capabilities.”
Niger military accuses France of deploying forces with eye to ‘intervention’
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Niger military accuses France of deploying forces with eye to ‘intervention’
- France continues to deploy its forces in several ECOWAS countries as part of preparations for an aggression against Niger
Scores killed in militant attacks in northwest Nigeria
- The attacks came days after the state hosted the UNESCO-listed Argungu fishing festival
- The Lakurawa group has been blamed for many of the attacks on communities
LAGOS: Militant fighters have killed scores of people and destroyed seven villages in raids in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state, the police said Thursday.
Members of the Lakurawa group attacked villages in the Bui district of Arewa northern region at around 1:15 p.m. (1215 GMT) Wednesday, said Kebbi state police spokesman Bashir Usman.
A security report seen by AFP said the militants had killed “more than 30 villagers.”
Usman said: “Scores of people were killed as residents from Mamunu, Awasaka, Tungan Tsoho, Makangara, Kanzo, Gorun Naidal, and Dan Mai Ago mobilized to resist the attackers.”
The attackers had also rustled “some cattle” in the raids, he added. Police, soldiers and local militia were immediately sent to the area.
The attacks came days after the state hosted the UNESCO-listed Argungu fishing festival, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) from the Arewa region, where the attacks took place.
The Lakurawa group has been blamed for many of the attacks on communities in the northern part of the state and in neighboring Sokoto state.
Its members stage deadly attacks from their forest base, rustling livestock and imposing “taxes” on locals.
The Nigerian government said the Christmas day air strikes by the US military in Sokoto had targeted members of the group and “bandit” gangs.
Some researchers have linked the group to the Islamic State Sahel Province, which is active mainly in neighboring Niger and Mali, though others remain doubtful.
The activities of the group have compounded Nigeria’s insecurity.
The West African nation is grappling with a more than 16-year militant insurgency in the northeast, as well as a farmer-herder conflict in the north central region.
They also have to contend with a violent secessionist agitation in the southeast, and kidnappings for ransom plague the northwest.
Nigeria is now looking to the United States for technical and training support for its troops fighting the militants after a resurgence of violence strained relationships between the two countries.
The US Africa Command said 200 troops were expected to join the deployment overall.
US President Donald Trump has said the violence there amounts to the “persecution” of Christians — a framing long used by the US religious and political right wing.
Nigeria’s government and many independent experts say Christians and Muslims alike are the victims of the country’s security crises.
