ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s government said on Sunday it had reduced the number of troops it has in Niger to make room in its military base for civilians who may need protection from a fragile security situation.
West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened military intervention in Niger unless a July 26 military coup is reversed. A deadline for the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, to be reinstated expires on Sunday.
The Italian defence ministry said in a statement that a military plane took off from the Nigerien capital Niamey and landed in Rome late on Saturday with 65 Italian soldiers, as well as 10 U.S. soldiers.
The airlift was arranged to increase the “logistical autonomy” of the Italian military base, “optimising its accommodation capacity, if it becomes necessary to take in civilian compatriots and, in an emergency, evacuate them.”
The ministry said more flights out of Niger are planned in the coming days, adding that for the moment 250 Italian troops, deployed for counter-insurgency and military training missions, remain in the country.
Last week Italy evacuated 36 of its nationals from Niamey, as well as dozens more citizens of other countries, leaving about 40 Italian civilians, mostly NGO workers, still present in Niger.
Italy is one of a string of Western countries including the United States and France that have troops in Niger, which has been an ally of the West against Islamist insurgencies in West Africa’s Sahel region.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Frances Kerry)
