Italy meanwhile has organized a separate flight to evacuate its citizens – fewer than 90 civilians across the country and just over 300 military personnel, according to an Italian foreign ministry spokesperson. Germany and Spain are both working to remove citizens from the country, and the United Kingdom has said that it is in contact with the few British nationals registered in Niger and is collaborating with France. Several other European nations are simultaneously working to evacuate their own citizens or collaborate in the French effort. France has been sharply critical of the power grab in Niger, which only gained independence from the former colonial power in 1960.įrench officials have had to combat apparent misinformation about their role in the current crisis, denying claims that Paris planned to intervene militarily and strongly rebutting rumors that French embassy security used live fire to disperse protesters over the weekend.įrench soldiers help evacuate foreign citizens.
Supporters of Niger’s military meanwhile gathered outside the French Embassy in Niamey on Tuesday to demonstrate against Paris’s alleged post-colonial influence. At least 262 people, including 12 infants, have already left the country on board one plane, French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said.Īt the airport, a CNN journalist saw French adults and children queuing with their suitcases outside the entrance of the Diori Hamani International Airport, as the French army organized operations. Two Airbus A330 planes dispatched by France arrived at the airport in capital Niamey on Tuesday afternoon.
Hundreds of European nationals are being evacuated from Niger in the wake of a military coup that has plunged the West African nation into a political crisis and rattled the region.
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