French Military "Clashes" With Nigerien Protesters, 3 Dead
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French troops and protesters clash on the Niger-Burkina Faso border, resulting in 3 deaths and 18 injuries.
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French military claims that two were killed "by stones".
On Saturday, a clash between a French military convoy and protesters in western Niger resulted in three deaths and 18 injuries. The protesters prevented the French military convoy from passing into Niger from Burkina Faso, according to Niger's government.
In Burkina Faso, the armored vehicles and logistics trucks were also blocked by demonstrators for a week before being able to proceed. Protest organizers said that the aim of the demonstrations was to expose the weaknesses in Burkina Faso's security coordination with France, which was its former colonizer.
On the other hand, protesters in Niger aimed to reject and expose the failure of France in countering terrorism in the country.
The French Army said it could not confirm the toll at the moment, according to its Spokesperson Colonel Pascal Ianni. However, he said that "no French soldier was injured," and claimed that "two civilian drivers of the convoy were injured by stones, and two civilian trucks were damaged."
In the meantime, photos of bullets in the protests went viral on social media.
#Urgent Quand est-ce que la #France va écouter les pleurs de Sahéliens? Au #Niger la population gronde contre la présence militaire française. pic.twitter.com/nNWAnYHYpU
— The Sahelian (@the_sahelian) November 27, 2021
Niger, Burkina Faso, and neighboring countries in West Africa's Sahel region have been growing increasingly infuriated by France's military presence, where French troops are present under the pretext of "fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda."
In #BurkinaFaso, the children of late Thomas Sankara, a true leader and a liberator of African people, held #French soldiers for three days refusing them entry into Niger with arms and amunition, insisting that Africa doesn't need France anymore in African affairs. #AfricaUnite pic.twitter.com/n4odP4HEJr
— Caje (@JCajethan) November 22, 2021
Protesters, who were mostly young men, were shouting "Down with France" as the barricade burned.
After the incident, France made its way to Niger's capital, Niamey, according to Ianni.
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum defended France's presence in the region, particularly the Sahel, and claimed that the departure of French troops would create "chaos".
In June, Paris began the process of reorganizing its military deployment to the Sahel region, which entailed leaving its military bases located in the far north of Mali, in Kidal, Timbuktu, and Tessalit and reducing the number of its soldiers in the region to reach 2500-3,000 soldiers by 2023, down from 5,000.
