After the military coup in Niger, the Federal Foreign Office issued a travel warning and advises people to leave the West African country. All Germans there should check whether their stay is still absolutely necessary and, if necessary, use the next opportunity to leave the country, the ministry explained to the German Press Agency in Berlin after the federal government’s crisis team had met. There are currently almost 100 German civilians in Niger.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) thanked her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, for the fact that the government in Paris also wants to fly Germans out. After the overthrow, operations at the airport in the Niger capital Niamey were prohibited up to and including Friday. However, Paris has received permission to land with three machines.
France has now started evacuating its citizens. A first evacuation flight took off from Niamey with more than 260 people on board, as French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday last week, officers of the Presidential Guard arrested the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and declared him ousted. The commander of the Presidential Guard, General Omar Tchiani, proclaimed himself the new ruler on Friday. Shortly after Tchiani took power as de facto president, the putschists suspended the constitution and dissolved all constitutional institutions.
Baerbock to putschists: “It’s not too late”
Baerbock pointed out that even a week after the start of the coup, the military in Niger tried to hold on to power, despite being internationally isolated. She welcomes the efforts of the African Union and the West African community of states, ECOWAS, to find a political solution. “People in Niger deserve a democratic future. We are working with our partners to ensure that the leaders of the coup agree to the mediation efforts for the benefit of their country and no longer cling to power,” said Baerbock. “It’s not too late to get back on the road to democracy.”
According to information from the German Press Agency, the Germans living there in Niamey have been informed since the morning about the possibility of leaving the country. It was repeatedly advised to register on the ELEFAND crisis prevention list (“electronic registration of Germans abroad”). The federal government has still not activated its own plans for an evacuation.
German air transport base in Niamey
The Bundeswehr maintains its own air transport base in Niamey for military engagements in West Africa, where around 100 German soldiers work. In addition, the staff of the German Embassy found refuge there. The base is the central hub for German soldiers in the region. The ongoing withdrawal of German blue helmets from the UN mission Minusma from neighboring Mali also runs over it.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) emphasized on the sidelines of a visit to Ulm that the base is important. If there is a way to guarantee the security of the soldiers, “then we will also try to stick to a base,” he said. At the same time, alternatives are being sought as to how the withdrawal from Mali could be organized via other flight routes.
After military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020, Niger became the last of the three neighboring countries in the Sahel to be led by a democratically elected government. It was not until the end of 2022 that the EU decided on a military mission in Niger to combat terrorism in the region. So far, the Bundeswehr has only provided a few soldiers for this three-year EU mission.
Burkina Faso and Mali warned the Ecowas international community against intervention in Niger. Any military intervention is tantamount to a declaration of war against them. Military intervention could have catastrophic consequences that could destabilize the entire region. Ecowas had threatened the new junta in Niger with violence, thereby siding with the West.
