The last French soldiers deployed in Niger left the country Friday morning, the Nigerien army announced during a ceremony in Niamey marking the end of their presence in this state led by a military regime since a coup in July. “Today (…) marks the end of the process of disengagement of French forces in the Sahel,” declared a lieutenant in the Nigerien army, Salim Ibrahim.
“Signature” of a “joint document”
The ceremony took place at the Niamey air base, housing a planned air base (BAP) where some of the 1,500 French soldiers and airmen present in Niger were stationed. The last French soldiers took off aboard two planes, noted an AFP journalist. Their destination has not been reported. The ceremony was concluded with the “signing” of a “joint document” by the chief of staff of the Niger army, Colonel Mamane Sani Kiaou and the commander of the French forces in the Sahel, General Eric Ozanne, said Lieutenant Salim Ibrahim.
The signing of the text was done “in the presence of Togo and the United States”, respectively “represented by the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces” and “the Military Defense Attaché”, he said. added. The BAP was handed over to Niger. Lieutenant Ibrahim specified that during the process of disengagement of French soldiers, “145 flights” were carried out, “15 land convoys” took place and “around 1,500 soldiers were disengaged”. “We are pleased with the smooth progress” of the disengagement, because “no major incident has been recorded,” he said.
End of a decade of anti-jihadist struggle
The withdrawal of French troops, which began at the beginning of October, puts an end to ten years of French anti-jihadist struggle in the Sahel, where Niger was one of the last allies of Paris before the July coup. After a two-month standoff with the new authorities in Niamey who had denounced several military agreements with Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on September 24 that French troops would leave Niger “by the end of the year”.
In Niger, the bulk of French troops were deployed in Niamey and the rest on two outposts in the so-called three-border zone between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, considered a hideout for groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS).