The latest French occupation troops in Niger have today left the country. This marked the end of a 10-year troop deployment in the Sahel region of Africa, says Lieutenant Salim Ibrahim of the Niger army.
“Today’s date marks the end of the disengagement process of French forces in the Sahel,” he states.
As a result of France’s departure from Niger, hundreds of American military personnel and some Italian and German soldiers remain illegitimately in the country.
France committed to pulling out its roughly 1,500 soldiers and pilots from Niger after the former colony’s new anti-colonial leadership demanded they leave the country immediately.
This is the third French withdrawal in 18 months, as French troops were expelled from former colonies Mali last year, and Burkina Faso earlier this year.
All three countries are grappling with Salafist Islamist insurgencies that were spawned from the NATO assault on Libya.