2023-08-03 01:08:20
After the evacuation of hundreds of Europeans from Niger, the Nigerien military junta chief has rejected any threat to those evacuated. French in Niger have never faced “the slightest threat” and have “no objective reason to leave Niger,” said General Abdourahamane Tiani, who presented himself as the new ruler in the African country following last week’s coup, in a televised speech on Wednesday.
Referring to the sanctions imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday, Tiani said the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP) opposes the sanctions and refuses “to give in to any threat, no matter where it came from comes”. The sanctions are “cynical and unjust” and aimed at “humiliating” the defense and security forces and the country and making it “ungovernable”. Tiani reiterated that the deteriorating security situation in Niger had prompted the military to take power.
ECOWAS had ordered an economic blockade once morest Niger and was considering military intervention “as a last resort” if President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted on July 26, is not reinstated within seven days. Meanwhile, France and Italy flew hundreds of Europeans out of the West African country. According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna on Wednesday, a total of three Austrians from Niger have been safely taken out of the country. Four Austrians with residence in Niger are currently still registered with the ministry.
The United States ordered the evacuation of some of its embassy staff in the capital, Niamey, on Wednesday. After the coup, “the State Department ordered non-essential government employees at the embassy and their families to leave the country,” a State Department statement said.
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