A Bundeswehr plane from Niger landed in Germany with about 30 passengers on board. Among them are said to be civilians and soldiers. Germany initially refrained from flying people out of the African country.
A Bundeswehr plane with around 30 people on board who had left Niger landed in Wunstorf in Lower Saxony. This was reported by a reporter from the dpa news agency on site on Friday night. According to dpa information, there are around ten European civilians on board. The news magazine “Spiegel” also reported on Thursday evening that the majority of those who had been flown out were Bundeswehr soldiers.
The A400M transport aircraft was already at the airport in the capital Niamey before the military coup in the West African country, a spokesman for the operations command said on Thursday evening. The plane took off with permission from the Nigerien authorities. “On today’s return flight to Germany, he flies around 30 people from Germany, the EU and other nations,” said X, formerly Twitter, further:
The Bundeswehr operates an air transport base in Niamey, which is the central hub for the Bundeswehr in West Africa and is important for the ongoing withdrawal from neighboring Mali. More than 100 German soldiers were last stationed there.
First of all, none of your own evacuation flights
After the coup d’état last week, the federal government initially refrained from conducting its own evacuation flights. Around 60 German nationals had been taken out of the country on French planes.
The Foreign Ministry in Paris had declared its own evacuation operation to be over in the afternoon. A total of 1,079 people were brought to safety, the ministry said on Twitter. In addition to 577 French people and their relatives, people of numerous other nationalities were also evacuated. There have been four French evacuation flights since Tuesday.
Closure of the airspace as a reason
Paris also justified the evacuation with the closure of airspace in Niger. This did not give its own citizens the opportunity to leave the country themselves. In the meantime, the military government in Niger has reopened the land and air borders with a total of five neighboring countries.
In addition, there were reports of violence at the French embassy over the weekend during pro-coup protests. Niger’s new military junta accused France of planning military intervention.
Hundreds demonstrate for those in power
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Niamey to mark the anniversary of Niger’s independence to demonstrate their support for the self-proclaimed new military rulers. With a view to the former colonial power France, according to a report by a correspondent for the AFP news agency, they showed posters such as “France out of Africa”. Some participants also waved Russian flags.
The protest participants followed the call of an alliance of civil society organizations on the occasion of the anniversary. Niger gained independence from France in 1960.
Hundreds demonstrated in Niamey for the self-proclaimed new military rulers.
ECOWAS delegation wants to meet new rulers
In the meantime, the President of neighboring Nigeria has called for a peaceful solution. Before the departure of a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Niger, Head of State Bola Tinubu called for “everything necessary to ensure a final and amicable solution to the situation in Niger”, according to the Presidential Office.
The delegation is led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar. According to the airport in the Nigerien capital Niamey, she arrived there on Thursday. Later, meetings were planned with representatives of the military junta, which has been in power since last week.
The military leaders of the ECOWAS alliance had previously emphasized that military intervention would continue to be considered as a “last option”. The ECOWAS states had ordered an economic blockade against Niger and demanded that the ousted president be reinstated within seven days. This ultimatum expires on Sunday.