M62, a civil society organisation in Niger, has urged France to pull its soldiers out of the nation.
On Monday, M62’s Abdoulaye Seydou declared that his group would not give up until French soldiers left Niger. M62 is a coalition of civil society organisations. Since Paris designated Niger the focal point of its Sahel campaign last year, 1,500 French soldiers have been stationed there.
“We won’t give the French forces one second on our territory once this deadline has expired, as the CNSP itself has made clear. All the villages, all the surrounding communes will descend on the capital and we will get them out. They will leave Niamey. They’re saying they’re in Niger, they’re not going to leave … but they’re going to leave.” Abdoulaye Seydou, M62 national coordinator
On August 3, Niamey’s ruling military denounced a series of military agreements with France, some of which include a one-month notice period. In recent months, fervent anti-French sentiment has been on the rise across France’s former colonies in west Africa.
