France completes troop withdrawal from Niger

(Patria) - The last units of French troops left Niger on Friday, agencies reported.

"Today's date marks the end of the process of withdrawing French forces in the Sahel," said
Nigerien army Lieutenant Salim Ibrahim at a ceremony at the Niamey air base, which once housed French soldiers.

The ceremony concluded with the signing of a joint document by the Chief of Staff of the Nigerien army, Colonel Mamane Sani Kiaoua, and the commander of French forces in the Sahel, General Eric Ozanne, Ibrahim said. The signing took place in the presence of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Togo and the military attaché of the United States of America. The air base was handed over to the Nigerien army, the Tass agency reported.

No major incidents were recorded during the withdrawal, Ibrahim said.

At the end of July, a group of rebel soldiers in Niger announced the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland, led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to govern the country.

The country's new rulers denounced agreements with Paris that allowed the deployment of
French troops in Niger to fight extremist groups. France began withdrawing its troops from the African country on October 10. At that time, there were about 1,400 French soldiers in Niger.