France, Italy prepare to evacuate citizens from Niger

Paris [France], August 2: France and Italy said on Wednesday that the two countries would start organizing flights to bring home their citizens as well as from other EU countries, amid growing unrest both inside and outside Niger following last week's coup. .
President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger has been detained by the bodyguards in the presidential palace in the capital Niamey since July 26, while General Abdourahamane Tiani, who heads the force, proclaimed himself the country's new leader. .
"Given the situation in Niamey, the violence against our embassy on July 30, as well as the fact that the airspace is closed and our citizens cannot leave by their means, France is preparing evacuate its citizens and citizens of other European countries," Reuters quoted a statement by the French Foreign Ministry on August 1.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on the same day that the country would organize "special flights" to bring home its citizens from Niger .
Niger was a former French colony and Paris maintained an army there, arguing that it helped Niamey fight jihadist movements. But a section in Niger disagreed with this presence, calling on Paris to stop interfering in its internal affairs. On July 30, pro-military protesters attacked the French Embassy in Niamey. A day later, coup leaders in Niger said Paris was planning a military intervention to rescue Mr. Bazoum, a charge that French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna later denied.
The coup has raised security concerns in the Sahel region, a stretch of land south of the Sahara that has seen the rise of groups linked to Islamic State (IS) and its network of extremists. al-Qaeda terror in recent years. The West African National Economic Community (ECOWAS) has vowed to impose sanctions on Niger and threaten the use of force if the military does not hand over power to Mr Bazoum this week.
But the junta in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea - Niger's neighbors and where the military took power after the coup - opposes ECOWAS's policy. In a joint statement, Mali and Burkina Faso warned that any military intervention in Niger would be seen as an act of "declaring war" on the two countries.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper