European country denies responsibility for attempted Niger mutiny
Translated from Arabic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot rejected Niger’s accusation that France helped encourage soldiers to stage a mutiny.
- Niger’s ruling military council said a France-led network of collaborators planned the attempted uprising and reserved the right to seek action at the International Criminal Court.
- Paris called the allegations fabricated, while Niger’s state broadcaster and government offered no evidence in the account provided.
France has rejected accusations from Niger that Paris helped incite an attempted mutiny that was thwarted a week earlier.
Pure fabrications.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot dismissed the allegations as “pure fabrications.” He said France had neither the “intention” nor the means to provoke such an uprising, calling the accusations another attempt to place false blame on France.
Niger’s ruling military council stopped a mutiny by dissident soldiers, according to the report. Niger’s state television later suggested that France had been involved with the rebels, but did not present evidence. On Friday, the country’s Council of Ministers said a broad network of collaborators led by France had planned the mutiny.
Intention.
Nigerian authorities said they reserved the right to take legal action before the International Criminal Court. The military council has also accused France, the former colonial power, of financing jihadists in an effort to destabilize the government. Paris denies that allegation as well.
All of this is, as usual, an attempt to place false blame on France, without any basis in the first place.
Originally published by Al-Masry Al-Youm in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.