Niger

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta, gather for a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference, in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. A top Pentagon official says that the U.S. has not received a formal request from Niger's junta to depart the country, saying instead it has received mixed signals on whether the hundreds of U.S. troops based there are no longer welcome. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

US says it has not received a formal request by Niger junta to leave military bases

A top Pentagon official says that the U.S. has not received a formal request from Niger’s junta to depart the country, saying instead it has received mixed signals on whether the hundreds of U.S. troops based there are no longer welcome.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a meeting with Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds, not pictured, at the Pentagon on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

US weighing options in Africa after Niger junta orders departure from key counterterrorism base

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, front center, makes a statement on July 26, 2023, in Niamey, Niger, as a delegation of military officers appeared on Niger State TV to read out a series of communiques announcing their coup d'etat. The U.S. is scrambling to assess the future of its counterterrorism operations in the Sahel region of Africa after the ruling junta in Niger announced it was ending military cooperation with Washington. (ORTN via AP, File)

US military operations across the Sahel are at risk after Niger ends cooperation

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, front center, makes a statement late Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Niamey, Niger, as a delegation of military officers appeared on Niger State TV to read out a series of communiques announcing their coup d'etat. Niger's junta said Saturday, March 16, 2024, the U.S. military presence in the country is no longer justified, making the announcement on state television after holding high-level talks with U.S. diplomatic and military officials during the week. (ORTN via AP, File)

Niger’s junta says US military presence is no longer justified

Nigeria's President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, third from left, first row, poses for a group photo with other West African leaders, prior to the start of the ECOWAS meeting, in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa were met on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)

West Africa bloc lifts coup sanctions on Niger in a new push for dialogue to resolve tensions

France completes withdrawal of troops from Niger

The last French military aircraft and troops departed Niger by the December 22 deadline set by the junta which severed ties with Paris after the coup in July, the French Army General Staff told The Associated Press by email. (Dec. 22)

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FILE - The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, gather for their extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger. Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have quit the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS. Their respective juntas said in a joint statement on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024 thatt he bloc has imposed “inhumane” sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations and has also “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and Pan-Africanism” after nearly 50 years of its establishment. (AP Photo/Richard Eshun Nanaresh, File)

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa regional bloc ECOWAS as tensions deepen

Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have quit the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria Yusuf Tuggar at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)

Blinken pitches the US as an alternative to Russia’s Wagner in Africa’s troubled Sahel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pitching the United States as a better security partner for Africa in place of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which he accuses of exploiting coup-hit and conflict-hit nations turning to it for help in the continent’s Sahel region.

FILE - French soldiers disembark from a U.S. Air Force C130 cargo plane at Niamey, Niger base, on June 9, 2021. France on Friday Dec. 22, 2023 completed the withdrawal of its troops who were asked to leave Niger by the country’s new junta, ending years of on-the-ground military support and raising concerns from analysts about a gap in the fight against jihadi violence across Africa’s Sahel. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel

France has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Niger after they were asked to leave by the country’s new military rulers, ending years of on-the-ground support.

France to close its embassy in Niger for an ‘indefinite period,’ according to letter to staff

A letter sent to embassy staff and seen by The Associated Press says that France will close its diplomatic mission in Niger following this summer’s coup d’etat in the West African nation and a souring of relations between the two countries.

FILE - Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum smiles before a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. A court of the West African regional bloc ordered the release and reinstatement of Niger's democratically elected president Friday Dec. 15, 2023 nearly five months after he was overthrown by mutinous soldiers. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

West African court orders Niger’s president to be released and reinstated nearly 5 months after coup

A court of the West African regional bloc has ordered the release and reinstatement of Niger’s democratically elected president.

FILE - Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023. Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors. In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday Nov. 23, 2023 with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Niger’s junta revokes key security agreements with EU and turns to Russia for defense partnership

Niger’s junta has scrapped two key military agreements that the West African nation signed with the European Union to help fight violence in Africa’s Sahel region.

Niger's fashion designer Alia Bare poses for a portrait after her show during Johannesburg Fashion Week 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Niger fashion designer aims to show a positive image of her country at Joburg Fashion Week

Niger fashion designer Alia Bare took center stage at the Joburg Fashion Week with a collection that she hopes will spread a positive image of her troubled country, suffering from instability and economic sanctions that followed a military coup earlier this year.

FILE - Mechanics work on a broken vehicle in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 28, 2023. Families in Niger say they are struggling in the wake of economic sanctions imposed after a military coup three months ago. Neighbouring countries in West Africa have closed their borders with Niger, stymying livestock trade. And residents in the capital, Niamey, say food prices have skyrocketed. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick,file)

Many in Niger are suffering under coup-related sanctions. Junta backers call it a worthy sacrifice

Families in Niger say they are struggling after economic sanctions imposed in response to a military coup three months ago.

France completes withdrawal of troops from northern base in Niger as part of planned departure

Niger’s military leaders say France has completed its withdrawal of troops from a northern base in the West African nation as part of its planned departure from the country in the wake of July’s military coup.

FILE - Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum smiles before a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. The Nigerien president detained since July by the soldiers who deposed him has petitioned a regional court demanding his release and reinstatement, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Lawyers call for ousted Niger president’s release after the junta says it foiled an escape attempt

Lawyers for Niger’s ousted president have called for his immediate release. The demand on Friday came a day after the ruling military junta said it had thwarted an overnight attempt by Mohamed Bazoum to escape house arrest with his family nearly three months after he was detained in the wake of a mi

FILE - A man sells grain in Dawanau International Market in Kano, Nigeria on July 14, 2023. Many poor countries in Africa face the harshest effects of climate change: severe droughts, vicious heat and dry land, but also unpredictable rain and devastating flooding. The shocks worsen conflict and upend livelihoods because many people are farmers — work that is increasingly vulnerable to a warming world. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

IMF and World Bank are urged to boost funding for African nations facing conflict and climate change

Most of the population in conflict-affected countries like Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and northern Nigeria depends on climate-vulnerable agriculture.

FILE - With the headquarters of the ruling party burning in the back, supporters of Niger's ruling junta demonstrate in Niamey, Niger, on July 27, 2023. The French troops being forced out of Niger were seen as a key line of decadelong defense amid efforts led by the West, particularly U.S. and France, to fight against jihadi violence in Africa’s hard-hit Sahel region.. (AP Photo/Fatahoulaye Hassane Midou, File)

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger and junta leaders give UN head 72 hours to leave

The French military says it’s begun withdrawing from Niger following the July coup when mutinous soldiers toppled the country’s democratically elected president.

FILE - Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum smiles before a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. The Nigerien president detained since July by the soldiers who deposed him has petitioned a regional court demanding his release and reinstatement, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

The US declares the ousting of Niger’s president a coup and suspends military aid and training

The U.S. has officially declared the ouster of Niger’s democratically-elected president a coup d’etat.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, speaks during a press conference after a meeting on security, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte )

Blinken calls deposed Niger leader ahead of expected US declaration that his overthrow was a coup

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Niger’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum ahead of an expected decision by the Biden administration to declare his overthrow a coup d’etat.

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. At least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, Niger's junta said late Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, as they struggle to end a spate of attacks. The junta, which took over power after a July coup against Niger’s democratically elected government, declared a three-day national mourning period for the dead. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Niger’s junta says jihadis kill 29 soldiers as attacks ramp up

Niger’s junta says at least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, the latest of growing attacks that the country’s new junta is struggling to end.

Extremist attack kills at least 12 soldiers in Niger as jihadi violence increases post-coup

Niger’s military junta says an attack by Islamic extremists in western Niger killed at least a dozen soldiers and wounded seven others.

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. The French troops being forced out of Niger were seen as a key line of decadelong defense amid efforts led by the West, particularly U.S. and France, to fight against jihadi violence in Africa’s hard-hit Sahel region. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

France’s withdrawal from Niger could jeopardize counterterrorism operations in the Sahel

The French troops who are being forced out of Niger were seen as a key line of defense in efforts led by the West, particularly the U.S. and France, to fight against jihadi violence in Africa’s hard-hit Sahel region.

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, speaks to medias during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on July 21, 2023. President Emmanuel Macron says France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country after its democratically elected president was deposed in a coup. France has maintained some 1,500 troops in Niger since the July coup and refused an order by the new junta for its ambassador to leave. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

President Macron says France will end its military presence in Niger, pull its ambassador after coup

President Emmanuel Macron says France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country now that its democratically elected president has been deposed in a coup.

Niger’s junta accuses United Nations chief of blocking its participation at General Assembly

The military government that seized power in Niger has accused United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “obstructing” the West African nation’s full participation at the U.N.

Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Want a place on the UN stage? Leaders of divided nations must first get past this gatekeeper

It’s one of the United Nations’ more obscure bodies, with no space to call its own within the riverside headquarters.

Deposed Nigerien president petitions West African regional court to order his release, reinstatement

The Nigerien president detained since July by the soldiers who deposed him has petitioned a regional court demanding his release and reinstatement.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, speaks at the Air and Space Forces Association 2023 Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo., March 8, 2023. The U.S. is making precautionary plans to evacuate two key drone and counter-terror bases in Niger if that becomes necessary under the West African nation’s new ruling junta. That word came Friday from the Air Force commander for Africa, Gen. James Hecker. (Eric Dietrich/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Pentagon says surveillance flights, not counterterrorism ops, have restarted in Niger

The Pentagon says it has not restarted counterterrorism operations in Niger, a day after the head of U.S. airpower for Europe and Africa said those flights had resumed.

Niger’s junta released a French official held for 5 days

France says a French official detained in military-led Niger last week has been released. The arrest heightened tensions between France and Niger, where military officers deposed an elected president last month and ordered French officials to leave.

Nigerien national guardsmen sit outside the customs offices in Niamey, Niger, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Around 300 trucks of food and other materials crossed into Niger from Burkina Faso with many arriving in the capital, Niamey Sunday, according to a regional custom's official. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

US military resumes drone flights and manned counterterrorism missions out of Niger bases

The top Air Force commander for Europe and Africa says the U.S. military has resumed counterterrorism missions in Niger, flying drones and other aircraft out of Niger air bases more than a month after a coup temporarily halted all those activities there.

France’s Foreign Ministry says a French elected official has been arrested in military-run Niger

France’s Foreign Ministry says that a French official has been arrested in military-run Niger, and is calling for his immediate release.

Mouhamadou Ibrahim, a former jihadi commander who decided to defect, poses for a photograph in Niamey, Niger, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. The future of a program in Niger that encourages jihadi fighters to defect and reintegrate into society is unclear after mutinous soldiers toppled the government that launched it. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

A national program in Niger encouraged jihadis to defect. The coup put its future in jeopardy

The future of a program in Niger that encourages jihadi fighters to defect and reintegrate into society is unclear after mutinous soldiers toppled the government that launched it.

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta hold a Russian flag at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 3, 2023. The mutinous soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum have announced a raft of measures that analysts say are aimed at strengthening their grip on power while preparing to defend against any military attempt by regional leaders to reinstate Bazoum, it was reported on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Niger’s military regime orders police to expel French ambassador and revokes his diplomatic immunity

A statement from Niger’s military regime says the junta has revoked the diplomatic immunity of France’s ambassador and ordered police to expel him from the African country.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, centre, poses with the 27 EU foreign ministers during an EU foreign ministers meeting in Toledo, central Spain, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. EU foreign ministers are gathering for a one-day informal meeting in Toledo. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

EU grapples with its African army training dilemma as another coup rocks the continent

The European Union is growing increasingly concerned about “domino effects” as yet another military coup rocks Africa.

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he holds his annual foreign policy speech in front of French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Monday Aug. 28, 2023. (Teresa Suarez, Pool via AP)

French ambassador stays in Niger, defying junta, as Macron defends French policy

French President Emmanuel Macron says France’s ambassador is staying at his post in Niger despite being asked to leave by the ruling junta.

A seamster makes a Russian flag in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Since the coup, Nigeriens have been waving Russian and Wagner flags at protests, fastening them to car windows and selling them in the streets. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

Niger’s junta invites Mali and Burkina Faso to aid its defense, asks the French ambassador to leave

Niger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the French ambassador has been asked to leave the country. The move further escalates the international crisis in the West African nation stemming from a coup that ousted the West African nation’s democratically elected president.