Foreign nationals evacuated as regional tensions rise after coup

NIAMEY (AP):

Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital on Wednesday morning to wait for a French military evacuation flight, while a regional bloc continued talks about its response to the military coup that took place last week.

France, Italy and Spain all announced evacuations for their citizens and other Europeans in the capital, Niamey, following concerns that they could become trapped after soldiers detained President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power.

The Biden administration has yet to announce any decision on evacuation for American forces, diplomats, aid workers and other US citizens in Niger, an important counterterror base for the United States in the Sahel. Some Americans, however, have left with the help of the Europeans.

France’s first two flights evacuated more than 350 French nationals, as well as people from Niger and at least 10 other countries, the French foreign ministry said. The Paris airport authority said two more evacuation flights are scheduled to land on Wednesday afternoon.

Some 1,200 French citizens are registered at the French Embassy, said the foreign ministry, and about half have asked to be evacuated.

An Italian military aircraft landed in Rome on Wednesday with 99 passengers, including 21 Americans and civilians from other countries, said the Italian defence ministry. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, “In some way, we were authorised by the new government, which gave permission for the operation.”

Germany, which has encouraged its civilians in Niger to evacuate on French flights, said that it does not currently see any need to evacuate the approximately 100 troops it has in the country, largely connected to the UN mission in neighbouring Mali.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he spoke with the German commander at the airbase in Niamey on Tuesday, “and he told me clearly they are not at all worried about their safety at the moment; they are in close contact with the Nigerien military; they are driving out accompanied by the Nigerien military”. Supplies also are assured, he said.

US officials have stayed engaged in trying to roll back the armed takeover, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling Niger’s president late Tuesday to express “continued, unwavering support”.

A US pullout from Niger would risk Washington’s long-standing counterterror investments in the West African country, including a major airbase in Agadez that is key for efforts against armed extremists across the Sahara and Sahel. The United States has roughly 1,000 forces in Niger, and helps train some Nigerien forces.

Leaving Niger would also risk yielding the country to the influence of Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which already have a significant presence in Mali, the Central African Republic and Sudan.