Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, front center, makes a statement late Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Niamey, Niger, as a delegation of military officers appeared on Niger State TV announcing their coup d'etat.
Keystone
Switzerland has withdrawn its personnel from the coordination office in Niger.
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Keystone-SDA/amva
Three staff members and one accompanying person were withdrawn from the African country. The reason given is the increasingly difficult security situation.
The foreign ministry stated its concern about the developments in Niger and condemned the takeover by the armed forces. In light of the “worrying developments”, the decision was taken to withdraw the staff, it said in a statement to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.
As of Thursday, 19 Swiss nationals had left Niger. The foreign ministry said it remains in contact with the remaining Swiss nationals in Niger. Not all Swiss nationals currently want to leave. The individual decisions to leave Niger were made voluntarily and at the individuals own risk and expense.
The decision comes after the military junta closed the airspace over the country, citing the threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A statement by the junta’s spokesman on Nigerien national television on Sunday evening said that any attempt to violate the air space would be answered immediately and with force.
The foreign ministry said Swiss staff would return to Niger as soon as the situation allowed and that Switzerland continued to support the Nigerien population.
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