A Nigerian is among evacuees on the first planes that landed in Rome and Paris on Wednesday, August 1, 2023 after leaving the Niger Republic following last week’s military takeover.
France and other countries are expected to fly more of their citizens out of the West African country on Wednesday. An Italian military plane carrying 87 evacuees from Niger arrived in Rome early on Wednesday, according to Reuters journalists at the airport.
Some 36 Italians, as well as 21 U.S. citizens, four Bulgarians, two Austrians, and one citizen each from Britain, Niger, Hungary, Senegal, and Nigeria were on the plane, as well as military personnel.
A military junta overthrew Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and his government on July 26 in the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa. With the risk of conflict escalating, France, the former colonial power, Italy and Spain said they would evacuate citizens by air.
The first French flight left Niger on Tuesday evening and landed in Paris early on Wednesday with 262 people on board, according to Reuters journalists there.
“Things could have turned ugly but it still is nice to be back here,” a French evacuee who gave his name as Charles told Reuters TV.
“We will see how things evolve over there in the coming days and weeks. For us, who care about it quite a lot, we will follow this closely,” he said.
The recent coups in the region have come amid a wave of vitriol aimed at former colonial power France that resulted in its troops having to withdraw from Mali and Burkina Faso this year and last. Many of those soldiers are stationed in Niger.
The United States, Germany, and Italy also have troops in Niger on counter-insurgency and training missions. There has been no announcement of troops being evacuated.