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☆ The Man Who Blazed a Trail for Dictatorship in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ben Hubbard | More About Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And help he did. He sent arms, military experts and advice on how to talk to the West. He encouraged the officers to assure the United States, Britain and France that the coup posed no risk to their people or interests. His long reign is but one strand of Nasser’s disastrous legacy, according to “We Are Your Soldiers,” by the Lebanon-based journalist Alex Rowell. Rowell takes the reader on a historical tour of the Middle East to illuminate how Nasser contributed to the region’s “shared curse of political repression mixed with economic misery.”

Persons: Gamal Abdel Nasser, Alex Rowell, King Idris I, Muammar el, el, ” Nasser, “, Colonel el, Qaddafi, brutalizing, kook, Rowell, Nasser, ” Organizations: Libyan Army, United Nations General Assembly Locations: Egypt, United States, Britain, France, Libya, Lebanon

☆ 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

"The public in West African countries has become increasingly wary of hosting a Western military presence," said Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at London-based risk firm Verisk Maplecroft. "The French exit from Niger will push Western troops further away from the central Sahel." The U.S. has refused to call the Niger takeover a coup, meaning it can avoid severing ties for now. Unlike France, American forces do not actively engage with Niger forces against Islamist militants and could be open to working within a transition to civilian rule. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the French military base in the capital calling for the troops' departure.

Persons: Mahamadou, Mucahid Durmaz, Verisk, Emmanuel Macron, Russia's, Washington's, Defence Lloyd Austin, Washington, Nathaniel Powell, Joe Biden, Macron, Aissami Tchiroma, It's, Oxford Analytica, Paris, Jalel Harchaoui, John Irish, Edward McAllister, Abdel, Kader Mazou, Andrew Gray, George Obulutsa, Andrew Heavens Organizations: French Army, REUTERS, London, Russia's Wagner, Defence, Oxford, Protesters, France, Military, Royal United Services Institute, Thomson Locations: France, Nigerien, Niamey, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger PARIS, DAKAR, West Africa, West, Russia, United States, Libya, The U.S, Nairobi, American, West African, Afghanistan, AFRICA, French, Africa, It's, CHAD, GUINEA France, Chad, Paris, Sahel, Europe, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Gabon, London, Brussels

☆ France will end its military presence in Niger by the end of 2023, Macron says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —France will end its military presence in Niger by the end of 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday. “We are putting an end to our military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger because they don’t want to fight terrorism anymore,” Macron said regarding the military leaders who took over rule of the northwest African country in July. Responding to a question on the timeline of the withdrawal, Macron said there will not be any French soldiers in Niger by the end of 2023. The French president also said he has decided to bring back the country’s ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, to France. This comes a week after Macron said the ambassador was “literally being held hostage at the French embassy.”“France has decided to bring back its ambassador,” Macron said.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, “, ” Macron, Macron, ”, Sylvain Itte Organizations: CNN Locations: France, Niger, putschists

☆ France to Pull Troops Out of Niger Following Coup, Says Macron
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS (Reuters) -France is to end its military cooperation with Niger and withdraw its 1,500 troops tasked with battling Islamist rebels in the Sahel region following a July coup in the West African country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday. Macron said the troops would pull out by the end of the year, a move that deals a hammer blow to France's counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel and France's influence in the region. Nonetheless, Macron said France, the former colonial power in Niger, would "not be held hostage by the putchists" who he has refused to recognise as the legitimate authority in the country. "We will consult with the putschists because we want things to happen calmly," Macron said in an interview with France's TF1 and France 2 television stations. France's ambassador was also being pulled out and would arrive back in the country in the next few hours, Macron added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Mohammed Bazoum, Sybille de la Hamaide, Michel Rose, Richard Lough, Sharon Singleton Organizations: PARIS, France's TF1 Locations: France, Niger, Sahel, West, West Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, United States, Central, Niamey

☆ France to pull troops out of Niger following coup, says Macron
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome Pope Francis, ahead of a meeting at Palais du Pharo, on the occasion of the Mediterranean Meetings (MED 2023), in Marseille, France, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - France is to end its military cooperation with Niger and withdraw its 1,500 troops tasked with battling Islamist rebels in the Sahel region following a July coup in the West African country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday. Macron said the troops would pull out by the end of the year, a move that deals a hammer blow to France's counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel and France's influence in the region. Nonetheless, Macron said France, the former colonial power in Niger, would "not be held hostage by the putchists" who he has refused to recognise as the legitimate authority in the country. "We will consult with the putschists because we want things to happen calmly," Macron said in an interview with France's TF1 and France 2 television stations.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis, Yara, Macron, Mohammed Bazoum, Sybille de la Hamaide, Michel Rose, Richard Lough, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Palais du, REUTERS, Rights, France's TF1, Thomson Locations: Marseille, France, Niger, Sahel, West, West Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, United States, Central, Niamey

☆ Guinea junta leader denounces Western democracy amid wave of coups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Guinea's President Mamadi Doumbouya addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsDAKAR, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that the Western model of democracy does not work for Africa, as evidenced by a recent wave of coups. Doumbouya took power in a coup in 2021, which was one of eight in West and Central Africa in the last three years. The coups have been strongly condemned by the United Nations and Western powers such as the U.S. and France, which have urged democracy to be restored as soon as possible. Doumbouya took power by overthrowing Alpha Conde, Guinea's then 84-year-old president who had changed the constitution to run for a third term, sparking widespread protests.

Persons: Mamadi Doumbouya, Brendan McDermid, Mamady Doumbouya, Doumbouya, Alpha Conde, Guinea's, Bate Felix, Nellie Peyton, Alex Richardson Organizations: General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, General, United Nations, ECOWAS, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Africa, West, Central Africa, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, France, New York, Russia

☆ Gabon coup: How France's neo-colonial empire in its former territories is disintegrating
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

A torn campaign billboard shows ousted Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba in Libreville on August 31, 2023. AFP/Getty ImagesPropping up ‘democratic dictators’Whilst the international community has condemned the coup in Gabon, it has not attracted the same vehement criticism that last month’s coup in Niger did. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France was watching the coup d’etat in Gabon “with the utmost attention.”It presents a challenge to France. Large crowds supporting the coup gathered Sunday near the French military base in Niamey, with demonstrators displaying signs demanding French troops withdraw. “The systems of government that former French colonies have, which were imposed by Paris are no longer fit for purpose.

Persons: Leon, Charles de Gaulle, Gaulle, Bongo, jubilation, General Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, ”, Ali Bongo Ondimba, ’, Oluwole, Elisabeth Borne, Chris Ogunmodede, that’s, Paul Biya, Ogunmodede, ” Ogunmodede, …, ” Ojewale, “, Ndongo Samba Sylla, Emmanuel Macron, Macron Organizations: CNN, Military, Gabonese, Agence France, Presse, Gabon, Getty, Institute of Security Studies, autocrats, Central African, CFA, Banque de France, “, Macron Locations: Gabon, France, Gabon’s, Libreville, AFP, Niger, Gabonese, West, Central Africa, Mali, Senegal, Dakar, ”, Niamey, Paris, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Switzerland, Africa, Russia, Commonwealth, Togo, Macron France, Nigeria, “ Africa

CNN —The military junta in Niger has canceled the visa of the French ambassador and instructed police to expel him, after ordering the diplomat last week to leave the country. The police services have been instructed therefore to proceed with his expulsion.”The decision taken on August 25 regarding the ambassador’s accreditation is “irrevocable,” the junta added in the letter. French envoy Sylvain Itte was told to leave by the junta for refusing to attend a meeting scheduled with Niger’s foreign minister, including “other actions by the French government that are against Niger’s interest,” the Nigerien foreign ministry said last week. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Itte will not leave Niger, despite the expiration of the junta’s deadline for his departure. Up to 1,500 French soldiers are stationed in Niger, which has been a major partner of the French in the Sahel region.

Persons: ”, Sylvain Itte, “, Mohamed Bazoum, Emmanuel Macron, Itte Organizations: CNN, Nigerien Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigerien, Embassy, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Niger, French, France, Sahel

☆ Analysis: With Gabon, Africa's coup wave shows little sign of stopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Edward Mcallister | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

If successful, Wednesday's coup in Gabon would be the eighth in West and Central Africa in three years. Widespread condemnation, or the threat of military intervention, have done little to unseat coup leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger and Chad since 2020. Minutes before the coup announcement, Gabon's election authority declared him the emphatic victor of Saturday's election. I am calling on you to make noise, to make noise, to make noise. The triggers for the Gabon coup were different to those in the Sahel countries further north, where insecurity caused by Islamist militants has done much to sway public opinion.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Bongo, Gabon's, Maja Bovcon, Verisk, Omar, Mohamed Bazoum, Paul Biya, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Ryan Cummings, Edward McAllister, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, REUTERS Acquire, London, African Union, Thomson Locations: Gabon, DAKAR, West, Central Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, Chad, Africa, United States, France, Cameroon, Congo Republic, South Africa

☆ Explainer: What do we know about the Gabon military coup?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The opposition had denounced the Aug. 26 vote as fraudulent, which Bongo's campaign denied. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsWHO IS ALI BONGO AND WHY WAS HE OUSTED? If successful, the Gabon coup would end the Bongo family's 56-year grip on power. It remains unclear how long the transition promised by the military would be or what exactly the officers are planning. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, and most recently in Niger, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo's, Bongo, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Ali Bongo, Omar Bongo, Brice Oligui Nguema, Anait, Alessandra Prentice, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Military, Central African, Gabonese, Reuters Graphics Reuters, WHO, ALI, Monde, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, GABON, autocrats, Morocco, West, Central Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Gabonese

☆ Reaction to Gabon army officers announcing coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are reactions to what appeared to be the eighth military coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON OLIVIER VERAN"We condemn the military coup and recall our commitment to free and transparent elections." EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY JOSEP BORRELL"If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region. RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON MARIA ZAKHAROVA"Moscow has received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in the friendly African country. U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES"The Secretary-General is following the evolving situation in Gabon very closely.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo, Moussa Faki Mahamat, BOLA TINUBU'S, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GENERAL PATRICIA SCOTLAND, OLIVIER VERAN, WANG WENBIN, Bongo, JOSEP BORRELL, MARIA ZAKHAROVA, JOHN KIRBY, It's, GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, Nellie Peyton, Sofia Christensen, Alexander Winning, Sharon Singleton, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, Central African, AU, H.E, WEST, BLOC ECOWAS, GENERAL, Commonwealth Secretariat, MINISTRY, EU HIGH, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, West, Central Africa, Gabonese Republic, Republic, NIGERIA, African Union, CHINA, China, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Moscow

CNN —Niger’s junta ordered the French ambassador in Niamey on Friday to leave the country within 48 hours, according to the Nigerien Foreign Ministry. In a statement published by state-run broadcaster ORTN, the Nigerien Foreign Ministry said the ambassador Sylvain Itte had refused to attend a meeting scheduled for Friday with the country’s foreign minister. The ministry said Nigerien authorities had withdrawn Itte’s credentials in light of the refusal, also citing “other actions by the French government that are against Niger’s interest.”“France has taken note of the putschists’ request,” the French Foreign Ministry told AFP late Friday. “The putschists do not have the authority to make this demand, the ambassador’s approval comes only from the legitimate, elected Nigerien authorities” the ministry said. CNN has reached out to the French Foreign Ministry for comment.

Persons: CNN —, Sylvain Itte, ”, “ Organizations: CNN, Nigerien Foreign Ministry, ORTN, Nigerien, French Foreign Ministry, AFP, US State Department, Niger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Niamey, France

☆ Opinion | The Deluge Facing Africa’s Leaders Is Going to Get Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Alex De Waal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

An uninterrupted swath of African countries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea is now under military rule. Some of the putschists deposed elected leaders, like Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum. Others forestalled elections or even overthrew the leaders they had installed. Throughout much of Africa, citizens also overwhelmingly want democracy, but they get frustrated when elected leaders don’t deliver. When people do welcome a coup, it’s often because they see it as the path to a better elected government.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Russia’s Wagner, can’t, don’t, it’s Organizations: African, Russia’s Wagner Group Locations: Mali, Guinea, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger, Washington, Brussels, London, Addis Ababa, African Union, Moscow, Africa

☆ Opinion | The Wagner Group Is Always Ready for a Coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Colin P. Clarke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But the nation’s successive elected governments were at least willing to cooperate with Washington, allowing the U.S. military to conduct regional counterterrorism activities. Washington has stopped short of calling the crisis a coup — a move that would require the United States to halt security and economic assistance. Wagner will be ready. Their operations have frequently resulted in the deaths of civilians, with credible accusations of sexual violence, torture and extrajudicial killings. Within days of Wagner’s aborted advance on Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that Wagner’s African footprint would remain.

Persons: Jama’at Nusrat al, Barkhane, jihadists, Wagner, —, Al Qaeda, Bazoum, Prigozhin’s, Wagner’s, Sergei Lavrov, Prigozhin, Putin Organizations: U.S, United, Nigerien, Islamic, West, Central African, Kremlin Locations: Sahel, Africa, Islamic State, Greater Sahara, Haram, Islam, Niger, Washington, United States, America, Mali, Libya, Central African Republic, Sudan, Moscow, St . Petersburg

CNN —US troops in Niger have been restricted to the American military base in Agadez, Niger, as the Biden administration works to restore democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum to power. A US military official said the approximately 1,000 troops were “retrograded” back to the base last week, shortly after Bazoum was seized by members of the presidential guard on Wednesday. “We’re working really, really hard to see if we can turn this around,” said a senior State Department official on Monday. But the Pentagon is engaging in “strategic patience as we monitor the situation and see how it resolves itself,” the military official said. The US has had troops in Niger for around a decade, mostly advising and training Nigerien forces on counterterrorism efforts.

Persons: Biden, Mohamed Bazoum, Bazoum, ”, Mark Milley, Dave Butler, “ There’s, Abdourahamane Tiani, they’ve, “, Wagner, Yevgeny, Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Nigerien, State Department, US Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Niger, Agadez, ”, Bazoum

☆ Niger response: 'Washington has to thread a very difficult needle'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The United States and its Western allies are faced with a difficult conundrum as they navigate potential responses to the military takeover in Niger if democratic rule is not restored. Experts told CNN that punitive measures could push Niger toward Russian mercenary groups like Wagner and away from its partners in the West. US officials have said there are no indications that the organization was involved in the military takeover. We don’t really know who this new general is” who has seized power, she told CNN. Felbab-Brown told CNN that Prigozhin is trying to “personally” take advantage, given his “precarious” place following his failed revolt.

Persons: Biden, Vedant Patel, John Kirby, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ”, Cameron Hudson, ‘, Antony Blinken, Vanda Felbab, Brown, Bob Menendez, Jim Risch, Kirby, Mohamed Bazoum, Gen, Abdourahamane Tiani, Bazoum, “, ” Hudson, Kamissa Camara, Camara, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, We’re, ” Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, “ It’s, Prigozhin, Putin, shouldn’t, ” Kirby, Blinken, United Nations Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Kamala Harris, Bola Tinubu, African Affairs Molly Phee, Hassoumi Massoudou, Mahamadou Issoufou “, Patel Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Nigerien, State Department, National Security Council, Experts, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Central African, West, Brookings, Senate Foreign Relations, Democratic, US Institute of Peace, Russian Foreign Ministry, African Union, Economic, West African States, United Nations, African Affairs, Nigerien Foreign, ” State Department Locations: United States, Niger, Russian, Africa, “ Washington, Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Niamey, “, Hudson, Russia, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Sudan, New Zealand, Nigeria

☆ What’s Behind the Coup in Niger?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a days of uncertainty in Niger, the commander of country’s presidential guard claimed the leadership of the West African country Friday in a televised address after ousting Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s democratically elected president. Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who goes by the first name, Omar, said on state television Friday, “We have decided to intervene and seize our responsibilities” in asserting power over the country. What happened in Niger? Members of the country’s Presidential Guard encircled the president’s palace in Niamey on Wednesday morning and held Mr. Bazoum hostage. For hours, an anxious country waited to see whether the crisis would be resolved quietly, with little clear information about either the rebels’ identities or whether the president was safe.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Abdourahmane Tchiani, Omar, “, putschists, Bazoum Organizations: Presidential Guard Locations: Niger, West, Niamey

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