- Title: France evacuates citizens from Niger after neighbours warn of war
- Date: 1st August 2023
- Summary: NIAMEY, NIGER (AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) FRONT GATE OF DIORI HAMANI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ROAD LEADING TO AIRPORT STREET SIGN SHOWING DIRECTIONS TO AIRPORT TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF AIRPORT ROAD LEADING TO AIRPORT VARIOUS OF FRONT GATE
- Embargoed: 15th August 2023 17:06
- Keywords: africa civil conflict coup diplomacy europe foreign france government military peace policy politics unrest war west
- Location: NIAMEY, NIGER
- City: NIAMEY, NIGER
- Country: Niger
- Topics: Africa,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001141201082023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: France prepared to evacuate hundreds of French and European citizens from Niger on Tuesday, a day after neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso said any outside intervention to restore the ousted government would be seen as a declaration of war.
A military junta overthrew Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and his government last Wednesday in the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa.
With the risk of conflict escalating, Spain said it was preparing to evacuate more than 70 citizens by air and Italy said it would organise a repatriation flight. Germany urged its citizens to join the French flights.
France's foreign ministry estimated that hundreds of French citizens and hundreds of other EU citizens wanted to be evacuated on flights she hoped would be completed over 24 hours.
Flight radar showed a plane registered to the French armed forces had landed at the airport of the capital Niamey at 1207 GMT and was due to depart around 1510 GMT.
(Production: Abdel-Kader Mazou, Cooper Inveen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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