– Paris denies the accusations of the military in power
Paris firmly denied this Wednesday the accusations of the military regime of Niger. They accuse France of having violated its airspace and of having “liberated terrorists”.
Published: 09.08.2023, 19:02
According to Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, “this putsch has weakened this fight against terrorism in a Sahelian zone where armed terrorist groups are experiencing a resurgence of activity”.
KEYSTONE
“The flight carried out this morning was authorized and coordinated with the Nigerien army,” a French government source said on Wednesday. “And no terrorist has been released by French forces,” added the same source.
The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP) had previously claimed that “French forces took off a military plane” this Wednesday morning from N’Djamena, Chad. According to him, “this aircraft voluntarily cut off all contact with air traffic control at the entrance to our space from 6:39 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. local time”.
In the same press release, the CNSP accuses Paris of having “unilaterally released terrorist prisoners”. By “terrorist”, the Council means armed jihadists.
Since the military came to power, France has suspended military cooperation agreements with Niamey. The Nigerien soldiers themselves denounced these agreements last week. Paris rejected them on the grounds that they had been signed by the legitimate Nigerien authorities.
The French army is present in Niger with 1,500 soldiers as part of the anti-jihadist fight. In an interview, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, recalled that the military presence was at the request of “the legitimate authorities of Niger”. He had also ensured that all operations were under Nigerien command, with Nigerien forces.
Read also:
ATS
Found an error? Please let us know.
0 comments
2023-08-09 22:56:21
#Niger #Paris #denies #accusations #military #power
