2023-08-01 14:45:29
Barely a week following the military coup in Niger, several European countries are beginning to bring their nationals from the West African country to safety. “The evacuation begins today,” said the French Foreign Ministry in Paris on Tuesday. France is also working to bring people from other European countries out of Niger. Hundreds of people would be flown out within a day.
According to the Austrian Foreign Ministry, “just a handful” of Austrians are registered in the West African country. The Austrian Embassy in Algiers and the Citizens’ Service of the Foreign Ministry are already in contact with those who are registered, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday at the APA request. In addition, since the putsch, the Austrian authorities have been in close contact with European and international partners in order to support all those wishing to leave the country safely.
In the past few days, the Foreign Ministry in Vienna has issued a travel warning for the whole country and has asked Austrians to leave Niger. “The security situation for foreigners is currently extremely critical,” the website said on Monday.
The German Foreign Office also issued a travel warning and advises to leave the West African country. France had offered to take Germans on board within the scope of the available capacities. All Germans in the Nigerien capital Niamey are generally advised to accept the offer. Spain is preparing to fly out more than 70 people. Italy said special flights would be provided to allow Italian nationals to leave the country.
In Niamey, around a hundred French people wanting to leave the country gathered at the airport on Tuesday. The French Foreign Ministry referred to the development of the past few days, especially in the Nigerien capital, to justify the evacuation. “Given the situation in Niamey, the violence once morest our embassy the day before yesterday and the fact that the airspace is closed and our citizens cannot leave on their own, France is preparing to evacuate its citizens and European citizens.”
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told LCI television that the coup is ongoing and that the situation remains worrying. “We decided to make sure that French citizens who want to leave Niger can do so.” She estimated that hundreds of French and hundreds of other EU citizens wanted to be taken to safety. The evacuation is scheduled to begin Tuesday followingnoon and be completed within 24 hours.
On Wednesday last week, the Presidential Guard took power in Niger, and the military joined them. The democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was arrested. Former colonial power France has stationed troops in Niger for a decade to support the fight once morest Islamists in the region. Bundeswehr soldiers are also stationed in Niger as part of international missions. They play an important role in supplying and transporting the Bundeswehr contingent in neighboring Mali. The USA and Italy have also stationed troops in Niger. It has not yet been announced that soldiers are also to be flown out.
On Sunday, coup supporters burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in the capital, Niamey. French President Emmanuel Macron said any attack on French interests in Niger would be met with a “quick and uncompromising response”. According to the previous governing party, the new military rulers arrested further ministers and high-ranking politicians on Monday. The coup has fueled concerns that security across the Sahel may be at risk. It is the seventh coup in less than three years in West and Central Africa.
The regional economic bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Niger, including halting all financial transactions and freezing national assets. Niger is the world’s seventh largest producer of uranium, which is used in nuclear energy and cancer treatment, among other things. A spokesman for the EU Commission said EU utilities had sufficient stocks of natural uranium to mitigate near-term supply risks. French nuclear fuel company Orano said its operations in Niger would continue and would not be affected by the evacuations because 99 percent of its employees were Nigerien nationals.
1690903821
#European #countries #start #evacuation #Niger
