Niger rebels accuse French troops of violating airspace

The military of Niger, who removed the president from power during the coup, accused the French military of attacking the country’s national guard and violating the airspace, transmits “RIA Novosti” with reference to the representative of the “National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland” formed after the coup, Amadou Abdraman.

“National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland” informs <...> about the facts of the behavior of the French forces on our territory. Today, August 9, 2023 at 06:30 am [08:30 мск] positions of the Niger National Guard <...> became the object of attack,” he said.

Vice-President of the Association for Revival and Reform (RER Sabon-Tashi) Umaru Cisse Bulkassum, in a commentary to the agency, said that volunteer detachments are being created in Niamey that will assist the military of Niger in the event of intervention by the ECOWAS countries.

On July 26, the Niger military announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazum and the closure of the borders. At the same time, a nationwide curfew was established and the activities of all institutions of the republic were suspended. The rebels allegedly explained their actions by the deterioration of security, economic and social problems.

On July 31, ECOWAS, which includes 15 states of the African region, issued a statement on the possible use of force if the rebels do not restore constitutional order in the country within a week and release the ousted president. On August 6, the bloc’s ultimatum expired.

On the evening of August 6, the military leadership of Niger closed airspace of the country due to the threat of military invasion. According to the representative of the junta Amadou Abdraman, two neighboring states are pulling their troops to the borders of Niger to prepare for intervention. However, the details of what happened were not reported. August 8 French radio station RFI citing an official in Nigeria reportedthat African countries could send a contingent of 25,000 troops to invade Niger. At the same time, most of the military may come from Nigeria, whose president “promised zero tolerance for coups.”

The Kremlin expressed concern about the situation in Niger. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow stands for the speedy restoration of the rule of law in the country and for “restraint on all sides so that this does not lead to human casualties.”