Foreign nationals evacuated from Niger as tensions rise after coup

Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital on Wednesday morning (2 August) to wait for a French military evacuation flight, while a regional bloc continued talks about its response to the military coup that took place last week.

Planes carrying evacuees have already arrived in Italy and France, with a group of British nationals safely landing in Paris.

Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, said 14 Britons were on the flight on Wednesday.

Violence has broken out in Niger after soldiers detained president Mohamed Bazoum and seized power last week.

Niger’s ruling junta and civil society groups have called on people to mobilise in the capital on Thursday to fight for the country’s freedom and reject foreign interference.