At UN, Niger accused Ukraine and France of planning attacks on country’s oil facilities
The Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zein, has accused Ukraine and France of supporting armed groups that are allegedly preparing to attack military positions and oil facilities in the north-east of the country, specifically in the Sahel region.
He made these remarks during a speech at the UN General Assembly, according to Censor.NET, citing the local Beninese publication Bénin Web TV.
The substance of the allegations
According to Zein, the attacks are to be carried out by armed ‘proxies’. Although the Prime Minister did not specify which groups he was referring to, he linked them to attempts to ‘recolonise’ the Sahel region.
Zane claims that Paris and Kyiv are seeking to destabilise the central Sahel region because of the uranium deposits in Niger, the gold deposits in Mali and Burkina Faso, and the lithium, gas and oil reserves.
Statement on the absence of confrontation
At the same time, Niger’s Prime Minister stated that his country does not seek confrontation with any other country, and expressed his willingness to cooperate on security matters on the basis of reciprocity, respect for sovereignty and Niger’s strategic interests.
Information
- Similar accusations against Ukraine have been made before. In February this year, the leader of Niger’s military junta, Abdurrahman Chiani, claimed that northern Benin was under the control of Ukrainian and French troops. At the time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasised that this was untrue and that no Ukrainian troops had been sent to Benin.
