The move follows a coup in the troubled Sahel state on July 26 that toppled a close French ally, President Mohamed Bazoum. French military spokesman Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere on Thursday warned that “the French military forces are ready to respond to any upturn in tension that could harm French diplomatic and military premises in Niger”. Coup alarmA landlocked former French colony in the heart of the Sahel, Niger routinely lags at the bottom of the UN’s benchmark of prosperity, the Human Development Index. Burkina Faso has approved a draft law authorising the dispatch of troops to Niger, according to a government statement in Ouagadougou on Thursday. The military rulers have so far spoken of a three-year handback period.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 01, 2023 02:03 UTC