Niger: France plots to destabilise the transition; the government denounces it
There is no end to the ping-pong between France and Niger. Still in the dock, France is being accused this time of attempting to destabilise the transition, following the barbaric terrorist attack that killed more than 60 members of the Nigerien armed forces in the north of the Tillaberi and Tahoua regions.
Niger’s Prime Minister Mahaman Lamine Zeine and Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba have publicly denounced operations launched by France to harm Niger.
At a meeting with representatives of the forces vives on 3 October, the head of government bluntly attacked France for initiating negotiations to destabilise their country. The Nigerien government is basing these accusations on comments made a few days ago by a French writer who worked with the French foreign intelligence services during a media appearance.
In a recent interview on French TV channel LCI, Vincent Crouzet, author of a number of spy novels, said that following the withdrawal of French forces, his country could now secretly mount destabilisation operations. The video of this statement has recently gone viral on social networks.
Prime Minister Lamine Zeine remains convinced that these remarks are evidence of a destabilisation operation by France.
The Minister of the Interior, Brigadier General Mohamed Toumba, went even further, directly criticising French troops. According to him, French soldiers are «accomplices of armed terrorist groups» In support of this assertion, he refers to the «new weapons» used by the armed groups and maintains that the equipment was acquired by «French enemies» for the terrorists.
