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PARIS — France started to pull troops from Niger on Thursday, the French armed forces ministry said in a statement.
“The disengagement of military personnel and assets stationed in Niger begins this week. This maneuver should enable all military personnel to return to France before the end of the year,” the statement reads.
In September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would gradually withdraw its 1,500 soldiers by the end of the year. For more than two months, the French leader had taken a defiant stance toward Niger’s junta — which came to power in July after a military coup — but eventually conceded to their demand that French troops leave.
Macron’s decision comes in the wake of forced withdrawals from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. After more than a decade of French presence in Africa’s Sahel region to fight against Islamist terrorism, Paris’ influence has waned significantly in recent months.
Questions remain for France, including where the soldiers stationed in Niger will go and what Paris will do with the military bases it still has left in Africa.
The French army also now faces a logistical challenge and needs to evacuate Niamey’s temporary air base, which hosted about 1,000 soldiers, in three months. According to RFI, the majority of personnel will be evacuated by air, but equipment will need to be transported by road.
“Coordination with the Niger armies is essential to the success of this maneuver. All measures have been taken to ensure that the movements take place in an orderly and safe manner,” the ministry added.
