Niger Military Junta Ends Defense Cooperation With France
- West African nation recalls ambassadors to US, Nigeria, France
- France has 1,500 troops in Niger to fight al-Qaeda militants
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Niger’s military junta has ended several defense cooperation agreements with France, adding to uncertainty about Paris’s continued military engagement in the Sahel region.
The decision comes a year after France moved its counter-insurgency forces to Niger following its ouster from neighboring Mali, another West African nation that suffered a coup. A French foreign ministry official said Paris took note of the junta’s communique but did not recognize the legitimacy of the Nigerien soldiers — who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 — to make such a decision.