The European Union (EU) announced Monday that they will be ending their Military Partnership Mission in Niger (EUMPM), citing the “grave political situation” in the junta-led nation.
The EUMPM was established in December 2022, to enhance the capacity of the Niger Armed Forces to fight against terrorist groups while maintaining adherence to norms of human rights and international humanitarian law. The initial duration of the Mission was supposed to be three years. This latest announcement will see the Mission finish early, at the end of June.
In July of 2023, there was a military coup in Niger, when President Mohamed Bazoum was taken hostage. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the previous Commander of the Presidential Guard, took control of the country and established himself as president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) immediately condemned the coup, demanding Bazoum’s immediate release, and member states severed relations with Niger and closed their land and air borders with the country. The US State Department officially recognized the ouster of the President as a coup in October.
The EU also heavily condemned the coup and created a framework of restrictive measures, targeting those who sought to “undermine the stability, democracy, rule of law in the country, and constitute a threat to peace and security in the region.”
In response, in December 2023, the junta announced the termination of the European Union Capacity-Building (EUCAP) Sahel Niger and the EUMPM mission. By the end of April of this year, the Political and Security Committee agreed that EUMPM Niger should not be extended beyond 30 June 2024.