Niger Junta Expects Rapid French Troop Withdrawal Amid Talks
- Talks with France to pave way for ‘swift exit,’ Niger PM says
- Troops withdrew from Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in January
French soldiers on the French BAP air base, in Niamey, in May.
Photographer: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Niger’s ruling junta said discussions are under way that are expected to result in the rapid withdrawal of French troops, after the West African country ended a military cooperation agreement with its former colonial ruler.
“The government has already revoked the deals that allow for the French troops to operate on our territory,” Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine told reporters in the capital, Niamey, on Monday. “They’re here illegally. Talks are underway, which should allow for a swift withdrawal.”