Niger is preparing for war with France following many months of combatting terrorists that it has accused France of supporting, according to press accounts.
Speaking at a rally of young people, the Niger’s military Chief of Staff Gen. Amadou Ibro said: “Know this: we are going to enter into war with France. We were not at war, it’s now that we’re going to war with France,” he said, as the crowd applauded, with some shouting “Down with France!”
Ibro reminded the rally that a decree on general mobilization, adopted back in December last year, was aimed specifically at preparing for this conflict.
France broke off relations with Niger following the military’s removal of the French-backed previous government in 2023. In response, Niger expelled French troops that had long been based in Niger, because France was not seriously aiding the country in its fight against ISIS and other terror groups.
Following a terror assault on the airport in the capital Niamey, the President of Niger charged France with involvement in the attack. At the same time the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a message that France had switched to openly supporting Islamist terrorist groups in Africa in order to destabilize its former colonies of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The Niger military has regularly said that France is trying to destabilize the country since it came to power in July 2023.
