Niger junta bans French aid group amid tensions with France

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger’s military junta has banned the French aid group Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, or Acted, from working in the country amid tensions with France.

The Ministry of the Interior signed a decree on Tuesday withdrawing the nonprofit organization’s licence to operate, without providing reasons for the decision.

Another aid group, Niger’s Action for Well-Being, or APBE, also saw its licence revoked.

Acted had been active in the West African country since 2010, mainly helping people displaced by jihadist violence and natural disasters.

Niger’s ruling military rulers took power in a coup last year, the latest of several military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel, the vast, arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert that has become a hotspot for extremist violence.

Since the coup, the Sahelian country has pulled away from its Western partners, turning instead to Russia for security. The authorities expelled both the French soldiers fighting against jihadists in the country and the French ambassador.

In September, the U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Niger, after the ruling junta ended an agreement that allowed U.S. troops to operate in the West African country.

Niger had been the West’s last reliable partner in the region in battling jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.