France announces the evacuation of its citizens from Niger "given the deterioration of the situation"

MADRID, 1 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced on Tuesday the implementation of an evacuation plan for its almost 600 citizens, as well as for Europeans who want it, from Niger, "given the deterioration of the situation" after the coup military that occurred at the end of last week.

"France is preparing the evacuation of its nationals and Europeans who wish to leave the country," the statement said, adding that the decision was motivated by the attacks a couple of days ago on the Embassy in Niamey, the capital, as well as due to the closure of the airspace that has prevented them from leaving Niger.

The evacuation plan will be coordinated with the current Niger authorities, adds the French Foreign Ministry, although those who want to leave the country must go to the starting point, which will be announced "as soon as possible", by their "own means ".

In principle, among the evacuees would not be the 1,500 French soldiers who have deployed in Niger, whose work was suspended by order from Paris last Saturday in response to the military coup on July 26.

On Sunday, thousands of people stoned the building of the French diplomatic mission in the capital, going so far as to set fire to one of its entrances. A day later, the coup junta, known as the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), accused France on Monday of orchestrating a military intervention to free Niger's now-ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to use force in Niger if the military did not reinstate Bazoum in office within seven days, a move to pressure supported by several international partners, including the own France.

Given this, the authorities of Burkina Faso and Mali warned ECOWAS that a possible military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them. Likewise, the Government of Guinea issued a statement disassociating itself from the sanctions imposed by the African body.

The coup has once again fueled concerns about political instability in Niger, a country that has been rocked by four -- now five -- coups since it won independence from France in 1960, as well as several failed attempts, the last of them in 2021, days before Bazoum took office.