France will begin removing its troops from coup-torn Niger this week, stated the French Armed Forces Ministry, following President Emmanuel Macron’s statement last month that he would not be “held hostage” by the putschists and would halt military cooperation with the West African nation, said le Figaro and reported Reuters.
The withdrawal of 1,500 troops from Niger exposes a vacuum in Western attempts to combat a decade-long Islamist insurgency. It also undermines French influence in the Sahel and may allow Russia to consolidate control over the region’s vast, unstable scrublands.
The French Armed Forces Ministry stated that the military withdrawal would be completed by the end of the year.
Niger was the West’s last important regional partner in the middle Sahel area south of the Sahara Desert until a July 26 coup installed a military dictatorship that demanded France departure.
Macron also withdrew his ambassador from Niger at the end of September.
Niger’s junta declared on August 4 the decision to scrap security and defense cooperation agreements with France, and to expel French troops from its territory.
The military junta also banned French foreign news networks France 24 and Radio France Internationale from broadcasting in Niger.
The military takeover in Niger–like recent coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali–occurred amid a growing tide of anti-French sentiment, with numerous stakeholders accusing France of intervening in their domestic affairs.