•Benin-Niger bicker over French military presence

France has denied reports that it has secretly deployed troops in Benin Republic to counter the government in Niger Republic. The French Embassy in Nigeria described the reports as baseless and unfounded, stating that the aircraft mentioned in the article is not a French military aircraft and has no connections to France. The embassy also emphasized that French security and defense cooperation is based on partnerships with full respect for sovereignty.

A senior officer at the French Embassy anonymously confirmed that there are no military bases in Benin and that cooperation with Benin is publicly explained on the embassy’s website. The Beninese government spokesperson also refuted the alleged presence of French military operations, inviting the Nigerien government and media to verify the absence of military bases.

The controversy highlights growing tensions between Benin and Niger, with both countries trading accusations. The Beninese government has invited independent media to verify their claims, challenging the Nigerien government to provide evidence of French military bases in Benin.

A popular Nigerian daily in an article entitled ‘French Military Transport Plane Drops Off French Soldiers in Benin Republic’, alleged that France took the measures following the expulsion of its troops from Niger Republic. The report in itself is a follow-up to allegations by the military junta in Niamey that France has set up a military base in Benin to also enforce the continued border closures between the two neighbouring West African countries.

In response, the French Embassy in Nigeria described the report as baseless, unfounded and part of the growing disinformation aimed to sustain the growing anti-French sentiment.

Part of the statement read: “The French Embassy wishes to inform the public that the aircraft mentioned in this article is not a French military aircraft, nor has it connections to France. Furthermore, Beninese and French authorities have denied the existence of French military bases or of plans to establish French military bases in Benin at multiple occasions in the last months, in the context of growing disinformation campaigns on that topic.

“In every country, French security and defense cooperation is based on a partnership of equals and full respect for sovereignty. Any action or program is carried out with the full agreement of relevant authorities. We remain available to answer questions from journalists and hope Leadership will take these clarifications into consideration.”

Also speaking in a condition of anonymity, a senior officer of the French Embassy, noted: “I don’t need to tell you that most of the information in this article is fake. We have no military bases in Benin. Our cooperation with Benin is not hidden but explained in detail on our Embassy website (https://bj.ambafrance.org/-Cooperation-de-defense-), so If we were trying to hide it, we would be doing a terrible job… As all French military cooperation, it is based on request from the partner country and done with the utmost respect for its sovereignty.

“And finally, of course, Niamey authorities have never demonstrated the ineffectiveness of military cooperation with France: cooperation was working very well before the July 2023 coup and giving good results. Accusing us of training terrorists, as the current Nigerien Prime Minister is doing, is so ridiculous. I can’t even understand why the media would report on that without disproving it.”

Earlier, the Beninese government Spokesperson, Mr. Wilfried Houngbédji, refuted the alleged presence of French military operations which would justify the continued closure of Niger’s border with Benin.

He instead invited the junta leader, General Tiani, as well as independent media from Niger to come and see on site the absence of such bases.

“A military base is not a needle in a haystack after all! The Prime Minister can deploy the satellite resources he wants with his current military allies to check if we have a military base,” he said.

Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji also made the distinction between “Fortified Forward Points” and military bases, affirming that Benin has several military camps intended to ensure national security and fight against terrorism.

He stressed that these installations are known to everyone, and that others are planned to be built, particularly in border communities.

“Now, if he talks about our Fortified Forward Points, our small military camps that we have built to secure our country and fight against terrorism, that’s something else. We are making them and today we have around twenty of them and there are others planned to be made. There are some in our border communes in particular and the Head of State spoke about it about two years ago in a message on the state of the Nation; it’s known to everyone ,” clarified Houngbédji.

This is why, he noted, the Beninoise Government has invited General Tiani to send the independent media to verify their claims. “They should come and see if there is a base here,” he challenged.

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