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Niger Junta Accuses France of Deploying Troops for Possible Intervention

A national police officer stands guard as supporters of Niger's National Council for Safeguard of the Homeland protest outside the French and Niger airbase in Niamey on September 9, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
A national police officer stands guard as supporters of Niger's National Council for Safeguard of the Homeland protest outside the French and Niger airbase in Niamey on September 9, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
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Niger Junta Accuses France of Deploying Troops for Possible Intervention

A national police officer stands guard as supporters of Niger's National Council for Safeguard of the Homeland protest outside the French and Niger airbase in Niamey on September 9, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)
A national police officer stands guard as supporters of Niger's National Council for Safeguard of the Homeland protest outside the French and Niger airbase in Niamey on September 9, 2023 to demand the departure of the French army from Niger. (Photo by AFP)

Niger's junta on Sunday accused France of deploying troops in several West African countries as part of preparations for a possible military intervention together with the regional bloc ECOWAS in Niger.

In a communique read on state television overnight, the junta also repeated its call for the departure of French troops from its territory - a major source of tension between the one-time allies since the July 26 ouster of president Mohamed Bazoum.

The statement appealed to "national and international opinion to witness the consequences of this aggressive, underhanded and contemptuous attitude adopted by France."

Relations between Niger and its former colonizer France have soured since Paris declared the junta illegitimate.

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Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
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Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

The Russian military captured a British national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Russia's partially occupied Kursk region, state news agency Tass reported Monday, citing unidentified sources in the law enforcement.
The man was identified by Tass and other media as James Scott Rhys Anderson. Tass quoted him as saying that he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed early on in Russia's nearly 3-year-old war against its neighbor.
In Ukraine, Anderson reportedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed to the Kursk region against his will. Tass published a video of the man saying in English that he doesn’t want to be “here.”
The report couldn’t be independently verified, but if confirmed it could be the first publicly known case of a Western national captured on Russian soil while fighting for Ukraine.
The UK Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.