Niger coup: UK reduces number of staff at embassy in face of unrest after military takeover
Britain is reducing the number of staff at its embassy in Niger following last week’s military coup amid the threat of pro-junta demonstrations.
A group of 14 Britons have arrived in France after being flown out of the West African country in the wake of the takeover by the army and the toppling of the democratically elected government led by Mohamed Bazoum.
The US has also ordered the partial evacuation of its diplomatic post in the capital Niamey.
France and Italy had previously announced plans to fly their citizens out of Niger.
Demonstrators previously targeted the French embassy
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said: “There has been a military takeover in Niger, which has led to protests and unrest.”
With a further pro-junta demonstration planned to mark Niger’s independence from France, which ruled the country as a colony until 1960, it added: “Protests can be violent and the situation could change quickly without warning.”
A previous rally led to an attack on the French embassy with its doors set on fire and the building stoned.
The UK Ambassador Catherine Inglehearn and a core team remain on the ground in Niger to support “the very small number of British nationals still there”, the Foreign Office said.
Meanwhile, Niger’s neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso have warned other neighbouring nations against military intervention against the mutineers.
The West African regional body – known as ECOWAS – has previously threatened the use of force if coup leaders in Niger do not reinstate the country’s elected president.
But Mali and Burkina Faso, themselves both run by military governments, have said they will consider any direct intervention in Niger as a “declaration of war” against them.
A map showing the ECOWAS area and its suspended members
The two countries – who are both currently suspended from ECOWAS – have also denounced the regional body’s economic sanctions against Niger as “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane” and have refused to apply them.
ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks, in the wake of the putsch.
Guinea, another country under military rule since 2021, has also shared its support of Niger’s junta and urged ECOWAS to “come to its senses”.
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The takeover has been widely condemned by international partners including the US, the United Nations, and the European Union.
They have all refused to recognise self-declared head of state General Abdourahamane Tiani and demanded the restoration of the government.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2bn (£1.6bn) a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank.
It is also a security ally of France and the US, which both use it as a base to fight an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa’s wider Sahel region.
The bodies of three hostages have been recovered from Gaza, the IDF has confirmed.
Israel’s chief military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the remains were discovered in an overnight operation carried out by the military and Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet.
He named the hostages as Itzhak Gelerenter, 56, Amit Buskila, 28, and Shani Louk, 22, who he said were killed at the Nova music festival on 7 October, with their bodies then taken into Gaza by Hamas militants.
“They were celebrating life in the Nova music festival and they were murdered by Hamas,” said Mr Hagari.
He said their families have been notified.
“Our hearts go out to them, to the families at this difficult time. We will leave no stone unturned, we will do everything in our power to find our hostages and bring them home.”
Israel-Gaza war latest updates
The military did not give immediate details on where their bodies were found.
Ms Louk’s body was seen face-down in a pick-up truck travelling through Gaza in a video that was shared widely on social media after the hostages were taken.
Her father has said the return of his daughter’s body to her family has been a form of closure.
Nissim Louk told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz his daughter “radiated light, to her and those who surrounded her, and in her death she still does”.
He added: “She is a symbol of the people of Israel, between light and darkness. Her inner and outer beauty that shone for all the world to see is a special one.”
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The Israeli military says it has recovered the body of Shani Louk from Gaza
In November, the brother of Ms Louk told Sky News of their last phone call as his sister tried to escape Hamas.
Speaking about the video that was circulated online after she was taken, Amit Louk said: “I never thought I was going to be in contact with this type of video, seeing my sister in that brutal position.
“And just in that moment, the whole family just crashed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths “heartbreaking”, saying: “We will return all of our hostages, both the living and the dead.”
Meanwhile, Professor Hagai Levine, a member of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, has said the recovery of the bodies is a “painful reminder” of those who are still in captivity.
“We do not lose hope. We are preparing for the return of the hostages that are alive,” he added.
The body of Amit Buskila has been found by the Israeli military
Israel has been operating in the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, where it says it has intelligence that hostages are being held.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others in the 7 October attack.
Around half of those have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a ceasefire in November.
Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
Itzhak Gelerenter was murdered by Hamas on 7 October
Israel’s campaign in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Mr Netanyahu has vowed to both eliminate Hamas and bring all the hostages back.
He faces pressure to resign, and the US has threatened to scale back its support over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to put the war on hold and free the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas.
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