The French government has delivered two ‘Gazelle’ helicopters to Niger as part of their bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, days after formalizing the end of the ‘Barkhane’ operation due to tensions with the Malian military junta and pointing to a restructuring of its military deployment in the Sahel.
According to information gathered by the Nigerian state news agency ANP, the handover took place at the 101st air base in the capital, Niamey, an event attended by the Nigerian Minister of Defense, Alkassoum Indatou, and the French ambassador, Sylvain Itté.
The agency pointed out that the reception of these aircraft and other accompanying equipment will make it possible to operationalize new bases opened by the Nigerian Army to reinforce operations against jihadism in the African country.
In this regard, the Nigerian Minister of Defense stressed that cooperation with France «supports and accompanies» the security forces in «improving their capabilities». «For a decade, the Sahel-Saharan strip has been experiencing insecurity characterized by terrorist acts against the security forces and the population,» he denounced.
«These acts greatly disrupt the economic activities of the region and the traditional subsistence activities of the populations in the affected areas,» before stressing that «the support of the Air Force is decisive» in the fight against terrorism.
For his part, Itté pointed out that the materials delivered are worth about 4.2 million euros and stressed that «they are part of an equipment plan validated by both armies». «The cooperation that unites us in defense matters goes beyond the ‘Gazelle’ helicopter project», he praised.
«France stands by Niger in delivering adequate means and supporting the plan for an unprecedented increase in the number of troops within the Nigerien Armed Forces,» he argued, while defending that «it is part of the philosophy of military cooperation programs.»
The country is facing a terrorist threat in the west from the Al Qaeda branch in Mali, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Likewise, the Diffa region, bathed by Lake Chad, is the scene of relatively frequent attacks by Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA).
