Nigerien deputies will debate and vote on Friday on the presence, denounced by local NGOs, of foreign forces to fight jihadists in Niger, AFP learned Thursday, April 21 from parliamentary and government sources.
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"
The debate followed by a vote on the presence of foreign forces in our country in the context of the fight against terrorism, will be held tomorrow Friday
," said a government source.
The outcome of the vote leaves little room for doubt, with President Mohamed Bazoum's ruling party having an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly.
Heavy human and economic toll
The document submitted to the deputies, consulted by AFP, underlines that Niger “
is almost surrounded by terrorist groups.
Despite the efforts made to contain the threat near our borders, the human and economic toll is heavy
.”
He adds that “
the evolution of the security situation requires a common commitment of the governments of our country and of other nations for an effective fight against terrorism, within the framework of existing or future bilateral or multilateral cooperation
”.
“With the departure of French forces from northern Mali, we expect there will be greater terrorist pressure on our country.
»
Hassoumi Massoudou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger
“
The special forces of friendly countries will be deployed
” and “
installed on the territories in the member countries of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) affected by the threat
”, including “
Benin, Ghana, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire
,” reads the text.
He specifies that in Niger "
which already houses bases of foreign forces, new establishments will be created closer to the theaters of operations
" in Mali and "
the places of parking, the methods of operations
" will be discussed "
with the military hierarchy
".
Growing terrorist pressure
In a press release, the opposition parties considered that the government's approach aims "
to circumvent the obligation to communicate to national deputies the texts relating to defense and security agreements, under the regularization of the redeployment of Barkhane forces and Takuba in Niger
”.
Hassoumi Massoudou, Niger's Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently maintained that his country wanted "
an increase in the intervention of our partners
", because "
with the departure of the French forces from northern Mali, we expect it to have a greater pressure of terrorists on our country
”.
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In its fight against jihadist movements linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group, Niger enjoys the support of several Western countries, including France and the United States, which have military bases in Niamey and in the region. Agadez region (north).
But Nigerien NGOs denounce this presence of foreign soldiers whom they consider to be "
occupying forces
" and "
a threat to the sovereignty of the country
".
