DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ France to begin troop withdrawal from Niger this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Mahamadou Hamidou Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - France will begin withdrawing its troops from coup-hit Niger this week after President Emmanuel Macron said last month he refused to be "held hostage" by the putchists and was ending military cooperation with the West African country. The decision to pull 1,500 troops from Niger leaves a gaping hole in Western efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency. In a statement on Thursday, the French Armed Forces Ministry said the troops would return to France and that the military exit should be complete by the end of the year. Niger was the West's last key ally in the central Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert until a July 26 coup brought in a military junta which called for France to leave. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Nicolas Delame; Editing by Richard Lough and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mahamadou, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Nicolas Delame, Richard Lough, Gareth Jones Organizations: French Army, REUTERS, Rights, West, French Armed Forces Ministry, Thomson Locations: France, Nigerien, Niamey, Niger, Russia

☆ Niger coup: Europeans evacuated from West African country as neighboring juntas warn against intervention
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Joseph Ataman Larry Madowo Caitlin Hu Shirin Faqiri Sana Noor Haq | Joseph Ataman | Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —France was preparing to evacuate French and European citizens from Niger on Tuesday after a presidential coup plunged the West African nation into a political crisis that polarized neighboring countries in the region. A message from the French embassy to French citizens in Niger, seen by CNN, instructed those wishing to be evacuated to bring food and water with them while they wait before boarding. Stringer/ReutersFrance and the European Union also cut off financial aid to Niger following the coup. Niger has “endemic problems, poverty, and terrorism, so there are many factors contributing to instability in the country,” Hudson added. In the wake of the deposition, some Nigeriens expressed their anger against the legacy of French colonialism and its continued influence in the West African country.

Persons: Catherine Colonna, Antonio Tajani, Mohamed Bazoum, Major Amadou Abdramane, Stringer, insurgencies, Bazoum, Cameron Hudson, ” Hudson, Issifou Djibo Organizations: CNN —, French, LCI, Embassy, CNN, Italian Foreign Ministry, West African States, Getty Images Security, Reuters, European Union, Nigerien, Niger, Center, Strategic, International Studies, World Bank, French Armed Forces, National Assembly Locations: CNN — France, Niger, West, France, Niamey, ”, Nigerien, Italy, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sahel, AFP, Reuters France, Guinea, Niger ., Niger’s, Africa’s Sahel, Nigeria, Western, Russia, Elysee, Moscow

CNN —Russian fighter jets harassed an American drone operating over Syria for the second time in two days, according to the US Air Force, a sign of increasing friction between the two countries in Middle East airspace. On Thursday, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone was conducting a mission against ISIS targets in northwest Syria when Russian fighter jets approached, Air Force Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a statement about the incident. Video of the encounter released by Air Force Central Command shows two Russian fighters flying near the US drone. In the Wednesday encounter, the Russian jets dropped parachute flares in front of the US drones, forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers. In March, a Russian SU-27 fighter jet collided with a US MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

Persons: Alex Grynkewich, Michael Andrews, ” Grynkewich, Bashar al, Assad, ”, Brig, Pat Ryder Organizations: CNN, US Air Force, ISIS, Air Force, Air Force Central Command, Coalition, Russian, French Rafale, French Armed Forces, Pentagon Locations: Russian, Syria, Middle East, Iraq, Russia

☆ Burkina Faso marks official end of French military operations on its soil
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Thiam Ndiaga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Head of Burkina Faso's army Colonel Adam Nere receives a flag from French Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Lecacheur during a military handover ceremony to officially mark the end of French military operations on Burkinabe soil, at the base of Kamboincin, Burkina Faso February 18, 2023. Burkina Faso's General Staff of the Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERSOUAGADOUGOU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said on Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces' camp a day earlier. In a statement, the General Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces said it had participated with the leadership of France's Sabre special forces in "a solemn flag-lowering ceremony marking the official end of the Task Force's operations on Burkinabe soil". The French armed forces ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The departure of the some 400 French special forces from Burkina Faso follows a sharp deterioration in relations that included Ouagadougou asking France to recall its ambassador.

☆ France to send Ukraine light combat vehicles, Kyiv wants tanks from allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"This is the first time that Western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," the official said. Zelenskiy thanked Macron for the announcement and said it showed the need for others to provide heavier weapons. "We must put an end to the Russian aggression this year," he said, adding that "modern Western armoured vehicles and Western-type tanks" were major assets that Ukraine needed. Macron in October also said Paris would provide air defence weapons as Russia intensified missile strikes on critical infrastructure. Zelenskiy has repeatedly asked Western allies for heavier fighting vehicles such as the German-made Leopard tanks.

Search resuls for: "French Armed Forces"

5 mentions found