"The National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland informs the local and international community about the events of extreme seriousness that are taking place in Niger, about the facts of the behavior of the French forces on our territory …Today, August 9, 2023 at 6.30 am [5:30 am GMT], the positions of the Niger National Guard... were attacked …The actions of the French forces were condemned for unilaterally releasing detained terrorists," Amadou Adramane, the Nigerien military’s spokesman, said.
According to military, information about casualties is not yet available.
"On August 9, a military aircraft of French troops took off from N'Djamena [Chad]... This aircraft deliberately stopped all contact with air control after entering our airspace"
Meanwhile, the French military has rejected the Nigerien rebels’ demand to leave the African country, Antinekar Al-Hassan, the political adviser of ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, told Sputnik.
Earlier, the military who seized power in Niger after a military takeover have announced the denunciation of military agreements with France. Niger currently hosts 1,500 French soldiers.
They "demanded the departure of the French, but the French refused to leave. They are not going to leave the country, this is an illegitimate regime," Al-Hassan said.
On July 26, Niger's presidential guard removed Bazoum from power. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader. The caretaker National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland closed the country's borders, brushing aside security agreements with France, the country's former colonizer.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave military takeover leaders one week to reinstate Bazoum and restore order, hinting that it would resort to military intervention otherwise. Its ultimatum expired this past Sunday. Mali and Burkina Faso, also ECOWAS members, have rejected the intervention scenario in Niger, showing discord in the ranks of what is generally considered a pro-French regional alliance.