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The first plane with more than 200 French citizens evacuated from Niger takes off

MADRID, 1 Ago.

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The first plane with more than 200 French citizens evacuated from Niger takes off

MADRID, 1 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, has confirmed this Tuesday that a first plane with more than 200 people on board has taken off this Tuesday from Niamey as part of an evacuation plan for its nationals in Niger due to the deterioration of the situation after the military coup in the country.

"The first Airbus has just taken off from Niamey with 262 people on board, including 12 babies. They will all return to France tonight," Colonna said in a message on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter.

For his part, the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, specified that the evacuees also included European citizens. "Proud of our soldiers and our armies for their ability to respond," he added on the aforementioned social network.

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. 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.

Keywords:
Francia