French troops stationed in rebel-run Niger have been restricted to a military base in the national capital of Niamey, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.
French forces have not left the base or ventured into the streets of the western African city for days, the correspondent said. Rebel military convoys have been routinely passing the facility without incident.
Thousands of anti-French demonstrators rallied outside the base on Friday to demand that Niger’s former colonial master end its military presence in the country.
An adviser to the ousted Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, told Sputnik on Wednesday that France had refused to pull troops from the country after the putschists called for their withdrawal.
