ALBAWABA - Niger has announced the reopening of its land and air borders with five neighboring countries, nearly a week after they were blocked following a military coup that ousted the elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
One of the military putschists said in a statement that "The land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, and Chad are reopened" starting today". This only comes hours after the first French evacuation flight took off following a warning the French Foreign Ministry released urging its citizens to stay alert till they are evacuated from the country.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told AFP on Tuesday evening that "there are 262 people on board of the Airbus A330, including dozens of children", stating that "almost all passengers are citizens".
The evacuations come following thousands of supporters of the military council that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, to the French Embassy, attacking the building and setting one of the entrances on fire.
The coup was organized by a group of soldiers known as the "National Council for the Restoration of Democracy and Security," and it ended in President Bazoum's ousting on July 26. General Omar Tchiani, Commander of the Presidential Guard for nearly a decade, is suspected of being the brains behind the coup.
Amid the unrest, the French Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that it will be evacuating French and European citizens from Niger, starting on Tuesday.
"Considering the situation in Niamey, the violence against our embassy the day before yesterday, and the fact that the air space is shut and our citizens cannot leave by their own means, France is preparing the evacuation of its citizens and (other) European citizens who want to leave the country," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
France has kept troops in the region for a decade, assisting in the fight against an Islamist insurgency, but some people believe the former colonial power should stop meddling in their internal affairs.
