Ahmad 
Niger’s military junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tiani, has accused France of trying to destabilize his country, noting that French agents who were expelled have repositioned themselves in neighboring Nigeria and Benin.
During a two-hour television interview on the occasion of Niger’s 64th anniversary of independence, Tiani expressed his concern about the activities of these agents to undermine Niger’s stability.
Tiani had previously criticized military agreements with France and succeeded in pushing French forces to withdraw from Niger, considering that Niger was suffering from pressure due to French bases in Benin, which led to diplomatic tensions and the imposition of sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tiani stressed that Niger would take appropriate measures to reopen the border once it was certain that any threat from Benin had been eliminated.
Niger continues to refuse to open the border with Benin despite the lifting of sanctions in February, considering that threats still persist.
Niger is building stronger ties with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali and plans to refine oil locally to meet national and regional needs, with a refinery and petrochemical facility in Dosso.
It is worth noting that more than 40 years have passed since the end of direct French colonization of countries in Africa and Southeast Asia, which lasted for nearly 4 centuries, during which bloodshed, the plundering of the wealth of the colonized peoples, and the French attempt to impose their cultures prevailed.
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