The head of Niger's transitional government, Abdrahamane Tiani, in an interview with a state television channel, accused France of supporting terrorist groups operating in the country and said new security partnerships are being fostered.
"You can't fight a fire with gasoline [...] The fire of terrorism is getting gasoline thanks to the help France is giving," Tiani said.
Faced with the fight against terrorism and economic recovery, the head of Niger's coup government pinned his hopes on "new partners" who "understand the situation" in the country.
Tiani, who led the July coup, linked the move to postpone the start of the national dialogue on transition, originally scheduled for September, to the "hostile" presence of some 2,000 French military troops in the country.
Tiani also emphasized that "demanding political concessions through economic sanctions is terrorism," and blamed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other international actors for the plight of the West African country's population as a result of the embargo on food and medicine.
In late July, a group of military officers from the Nigerien Presidential Guard staged a coup and announced the ouster of elected President Mohamed Bazoum. The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, led by Guard Commander Abdrahamane Tiani, was formed to govern the country.
The new authorities denounced the agreements with France on the deployment of military contingents in Niger to fight extremist groups. France began withdrawing its troops from the West African nation on October 10.
ECOWAS leaders imposed tough sanctions on the coup leadership and demanded that they release Bazoum, threatening to use force. On December 10, at the ECOWAS summit, the bloc's leaders announced the extension of sanctions imposed in August against Niger's new leadership and their willingness to ease them if the transition period is completed on time.
In late October, Niger's Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, referring to ECOWAS sanctions on Niger, emphasized that no country in the world had been subjected to such "injustice."
Niger's health sector has been the hardest hit by the sanctions, as the measures have hampered the supply of medicines, Himou Boubacar of the Union of Doctors, Pharmacists and Dental Surgeons of Niger told Sputnik Africa in late November.