France has started talks with some Niger army officials over withdrawing some troops from the African country following a coup in July, Le Monde reported on Tuesday.
Neither the number of French soldiers involved nor the timing of their departure has been decided, Le Monde said, citing several unidentified French sources close to the matter.
The talks are not being held with putsch leaders, but with regular army officials with whom France has long cooperated, the newspaper said.
Following the coup, France, the former colonial power in Niger, said it would end military cooperation and cut all development aid to the country.
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France has around 1,500 troops in the Sahel state, many of them deployed at an air base near the capital Niamey.
The post-coup government on August 3 renounced military accords with Paris, a move France has ignored on the grounds of legitimacy.
Tens of thousands of protestors rallied outside the French military base at the weekend to demand they leave, responding to a call by a pro-coup civilian coalition.
The French defence ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
According to Le Monde, some French troops could be redeployed in the region, notably in neighbouring Chad, while others could return to France.
Niger’s military-appointed prime minister had on Monday, September 4, said “contacts” were underway for a “very swift” withdrawal of French forces.
In a press conference, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine said “the contacts that are underway should enable a very swift withdrawal” of French forces. But, he said, Niger wished “to maintain cooperation with a country with which we have shared an enormous number of things.”
