APA – Niamey (Niger) – On Tuesday evening, the Niger authorities announced their decision to terminate the military cooperation agreement with Benin, a country they accuse of serving as a rear base for the preparation of an “aggression” led by France, in collaboration with certain members of ECOWAS.
The spokesman for the ‘Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie’ (CNSP) and the transitional government issued a new statement on public television on the evening of Tuesday 12 September, announcing that they had denounced the military agreement of 11 July 2022 between Niger and Benin.
After recalling “the ancestral ties that bind the people of Niger to the brotherly people of Benin, with whom we share the same populations and common interests,” Colonel Abdramane Amadou pointed out that it was these ties, which had “become institutional,” that had facilitated the signing of a military cooperation agreement between the two countries. However, he added, “this country, faced with the security, political and economic situation, has decided to contemplate aggression against Niger instead of supporting it,” before going on to say that “the Republic of Benin has authorized the stationing of military personnel, mercenaries and war material with a view to the aggression wanted by France, in collaboration with certain ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries against our country, despite the military cooperation agreement of 11 July 2022 linking our two States.”
According to the press release, the CNSP and the government of Niger, having reiterated “their desire to avoid escalation and having repeatedly called for compliance with the obligations of the said agreement”, have decided to denounce the military cooperation agreement of 11 July 2022 in accordance with its article 23 and the six (06) months’ notice period. To this end, diplomatic correspondence will be sent to the Beninese authorities, in accordance with the relevant procedure”, states the same source.
Benin accused of serving as a rear base for intervention in Niger
In a previous statement dated Saturday 9 September 2023, the military junta had already accused Benin of serving as a rear base for France which, despite the announcement of the withdrawal of its troops from Niger, the “sincerity” of which it doubted, continues to deploy its forces in several ECOWAS countries as part of the preparations “for an aggression against Niger” that it is planning in collaboration with this community organization.
The authorities in Niamey said that from the beginning of September, two A400M military transport aircraft and a Dornier 328 were deployed as reinforcements in Cote d’Ivoire, along with two Super Puma multi-role helicopters and some forty armored vehicles in Kandi and Malanville in Benin. On 7 September 2023, the same source added, a French military vessel docked in Cotonou with military personnel and resources on board. In addition, around a hundred rotations of military cargo aircraft have unloaded large quantities of war materiel and equipment in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin.
In early August, the CNSP also denounced the defense and security agreements between Niger and France, despite Paris’ refusal to recognize the legality of this request.
The military agreement between Niger and Benin was signed on 11 July 2022 by the defense ministers of the two countries, which were facing increasing terrorist threats on their shared border, particularly in the ‘W’ Park. Under the terms of the agreement, Niamey and Cotonou were to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism, notably through exchanges of intelligence, aerial assistance to track the movements of jihadist groups and joint operations between the Beninese and Nigerien armies.
AYB/ac/fss/abj/APA