France made preparations on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens from Niger amidst escalating tensions following the coup last week.
In response to the anti-French protests triggered by the coup, Paris announced on Tuesday that it was taking steps to evacuate its nationals from the capital.
“In the face of a deteriorating security situation in Niamey, and taking advantage of the relative calm in Niamey, an operation of evacuation by air from Niamey is being prepared,” said a message sent out by the embassy to French citizens, adding that the evacuations “will take place very soon in a very limited span of time”.
The foreign ministry in Paris has confirmed that an evacuation is being arranged and will be executed promptly.
Niger has become the third Sahel country in less than three years to experience a military coup, following the footsteps of its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso.
Across all three nations, militant insurgencies have put immense pressure on already fragile governments, fueling discontent within the military and inflicting severe economic hardships on some of the world’s most impoverished countries.