Military Space News
AFRICA NEWS
French army says to begin Niger withdrawal 'this week'
French army says to begin Niger withdrawal 'this week'
by AFP Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Oct 5, 2023
French troops will begin withdrawing from Niger "this week", Paris said Thursday, after a falling-out with the military junta in power since a July coup.

"We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigeriens," the military headquarters said.

The announcement comes a week after France's ambassador to Niamey returned home under pressure from the regime.

President Emmanuel Macron had announced on September 24 the withdrawal of 1,400 French troops "by the end of the year".

Paris' soldiers were in Niger as part of a wider fight against jihadists across the Sahel region.

Some 400 are deployed alongside local troops in northwestern Niger, near its borders with Burkina Faso and Mali.

The "three borders" zone is known as a haven for the Islamic State group.

Soldiers withdrawing from the area would need cover to leave their exposed forward positions, the military headquarters said, possibly including air support from the larger force at an airbase outside the capital Niamey.

The troops have been living with uncertainty since the junta began demanding their departure, with irregular supplies of food and repeated anti-French demonstrations outside the Niamey base.

France had reinforced its presence in Niger after another coup-born military regime in Mali demanded its forces' departure, adding armoured vehicles and helicopters to the drones and fighter jets already deployed.

Its troops will now have to withdraw either via Benin to the south -- at odds with the junta in Niamey -- or Chad to the east, site of France's headquarters for the Sahel theatre.

For now, Niamey forbids French flights over its territory.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
AFRICA NEWS
Mali rebels claim capture of army camp
Dakar (AFP) Oct 4, 2023
Tuareg rebels on Wednesday claimed to have captured a camp of Mali's armed forces in the north of the country, where clashes have been escalating since August. The Upper Council for Azawad Unity (CUA) said in a brief statement on social networks that the army camp at Taoussa, in the Gao region, was "under the control" of the rebels, without giving further details. A local teacher, contacted by AFP ,reported ongoing gunfire in the afternoon in the area of the camp. The CUA is part of a predo ... read more

AFRICA NEWS
$3.5 bn Germany deal the biggest yet for Israeli arms sector

Germany and Israel sign 'historic' missile shield deal

Estonia, Latvia acquire 1bn-euro German air defence system

SpaceX launches new batch of Space Defense Agency missile tracking satellites

AFRICA NEWS
Bulgaria to provide air-defence missiles to Ukraine

North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles

Two killed by falling debris after missile strike on Kyiv: authorities

Australia agrees to buy long-range missiles from US

AFRICA NEWS
AI drones to help farmers optimize vegetable yields

Northrop Grumman to deliver in country maintenance for the Triton UAV sustainment

Ukraine war pushes NATO to bolster drone-tackling expertise

Ukraine says 17 of 24 Russian drones destroyed overnight

AFRICA NEWS
BlueHalo expands US satellite operation capacity under Space Force SCAR Program

SSC partners with Johns Hopkins for software best practices in protected SATCOM

Picogrid releases smallest AI-Enabled Command Station deployable in minutes

PLD SPACE signs a MOU with WISeKey to launch ultra-secure satellites with MIURA 5

AFRICA NEWS
EU seeks to protect sensitive tech from Chinese buyers

First batch of U.S. Abrams tanks arrive in Ukraine

How L3Harris' multirole approach to EW enables superior mission agility

Poland no longer arming Ukraine: Polish PM

AFRICA NEWS
Africa interested in making Ukrainian weapons: Kyiv

Russia unveils huge spending hike to battle 'hybrid war'

Government shutdown would have wide array of detrimental effects

U.S. signs agreement to help Poland modernize its military

AFRICA NEWS
Ukraine closer to NATO 'than ever' as Russia reduced to Iran, NKorea deals

HK bishop optimistic about China-Vatican ties

Blinken says China wants to be 'dominant power' in world

Washington says goodbye to pandas amid bitter US-China backdrop

AFRICA NEWS
World Nano Foundation highlights nanotech's role in space materials science

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.