Republic of Niger expels EU Recovery Mission Members

By Alhaji Umar
Kanempress News
2nd February 2024

The military junta in the Republic of Niger has expelled several members of the European civilian reconstruction mission EUCAP Sahel Niger from the country.

The German head of the mission, Katja Dominik, was also affected.

According to Kanempress, the group arrived in the capital Niamey a few days ago and shortly afterwardy, was ordered to leave the republic of Niger within 72 hours.

The Interior minister, Mohamed Toumba claimed that members of the mission had entered the republic of Niger “without informing the government beforehand.

A spokeswoman for the EU’s diplomatic service said the EU mission had on Tuesday, asked the Military junta for clarifications.

The refusal of entry was just one of several “hostile and unjustified incidents against the EU and its member states in recent months,” said the spokeswoman.

In December the ruling military junta in Niger decided to cancel cooperation with two EU missions, namely EUCAP Sahel Niger and the EUMPM military partnership mission.

The EU missions were part of a security partnership aimed at curbing migration to Europe and supporting the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

That was where Islamist groups had for years carried out attacks on civilians and seized territory in several countries, including Niger.

EU member states had deployed around 130 security personnel, who were also engaged in training officers in the Republic of Niger.

Until when the democratically elected president was ousted in 2023, the republic of Niger was seen as the last democratic partner of the EU and the United States in the Sahel region.