Airlines serving Niger’s capital Niamey have now decided not to carry French passengers to the destination, many of whom were recently turned away on arrival, AFP learned from airport sources on Wednesday. According to Nigerian authorities, any passenger of French nationality is no longer authorized to enter Nigerian territory. As a result, this destination will no longer be accepted on our flights”An internal Air Burkina memo consulted by AFP suggests.
In a press release published on the evening of Wednesday, January 31, the Burkinabe company confirmed this “This note does not come out” Hers and hers “Can’t be held responsible for any consequences that may result”. The text says nothing about the boarding or not of French nationals.
A source close to the company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) indicated “French passengers bound for Niamey can no longer board” ram plane, “Without special authorization from the Nigerian authorities and for about a week.”. Contacted by AFP, other companies serving Niamey, Ethiopian Airlines, Eski, Air Tunisia and Turkish Airlines did not initially respond to questions about whether they would continue to fly French nationals to Niger.
In addition, the Nigerian authorities have not yet confirmed that the French who were or were intending to come to Niamey were now persona non grata on their territory. Relations between Niger and France, the region’s former colonial power, have continued to deteriorate since the July 26, 2023 military coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
“Serious Obstacles”
The French embassy in Niger, which Paris announced to close shortly before Christmas, is officially closed. “Until further notice” and will continue its activities from Paris, the French Foreign Ministry announced on January 2. The Ministry emphasized on it “For five months, our embassy has faced serious obstacles that make it impossible to carry out its mission: the blockade around the embassy, travel restrictions for agents and the recovery of all diplomatic personnel who were supposed to reach Niger”.
The decision to close the embassy, an extremely rare measure, was taken in parallel with the withdrawal of the last French troops stationed in Niger as part of the fight against terrorism, who left the country on December 22, 2023. After the coup d. On July 26, the military in power quickly demanded the departure of French troops – about 1,500 deployed to fight the jihadists – and denounced several military agreements concluded with Paris.
The military regime also announced the expulsion of French ambassador Sylvain Itte in late August. He remained stuck inside a diplomatic mission for nearly a month before being released by the decision of President Emmanuel Macron, who ordered him to stay in place after the coup. French newspaper Chained ducks According to a diplomatic source contacted by AFP, Mr Itte cited a veto by the French Foreign Ministry over the publication of the book. “Harmful to our security interest”.
Turkey’s rise to power in the Sahel
Since France’s departure, Niger, like neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which also faces military-led and jihadist violence in the wake of a coup, has moved closer to other partners, including Russia.
In this context, Turkey assured on Thursday that it wants to help Niger “Strengthen Your Independence” After Niamey announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “President Erdogan expresses Turkey’s support for steps taken by Niger to strengthen its political, military and economic independence”.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Nigerian Prime Minister Ali Mahama signaled the Turkish presidency following a tete-a-tete in Ankara between Lamin Zein, who was appointed by the military regime in power in Niamey.
Turkey says it wants to strengthen its trade with Niger, which announced on Tuesday – following Mali and Burkina Faso – that it had notified its withdrawal from ECOWAS, a decision with potentially serious consequences for its economy and political stability. ECOWAS has worked in vain to quickly return to civilian power in Niamey, Bamako and Ouagadougou, where coups have toppled elected presidents.
According to the Turkish president, Mr. Erdogan made the announcement “Turkey opposes foreign military intervention that afflicts the Nigerian people and will continue to do so”. Ankara, which has increased its presence in the Sahel and wants to take advantage of France’s forced departure to further increase its influence there, has adopted a compromise position with the army that took power in Niger in late July. . The situation in Niger is closely scrutinized by Ankara, a Sahelian country located on the southern border of Libya, where Turkey has many interests.
