Niger bans European NGO

Niger’s military government has banned French aid group Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (Acted) from operating in the West African nation as relations with former colonial power France deteriorate.

The country’s interior ministry announced the decision in a decree on Tuesday, without providing reasons. It also revoked the license of local humanitarian group APBE – Action Pour le Bien-Etre in French.

“The license to operate accorded to the NGO named Acted... has been withdrawn from Tuesday,” the ministry stated.

The organization had been working in the former French colony since 2010, providing assistance to displaced people. According to information on its website, Acted says over a million locals in the jihadist-infested, landlocked country have benefited from projects implemented during its 14-year operation.

The Paris-based NGO receives funding from several partners, including the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The move is the latest in a string of actions taken by the Sahel state’s new leadership against French organizations since assuming control of Niamey following a coup last year. Last month, the Nigerien media regulator barred the French channel Canal Plus from airing a romance-themed television show, arguing it threatened the country’s values.

In June, the government revoked a license that had allowed French state-owned company Orano to operate one of the world’s largest uranium mines in Niger.

The country followed in the footsteps of allies in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali by expelling French forces, accusing Paris of aggression and meddling in the affairs of their nations. US forces, who had been involved in counterterrorism operations in the country, also left in September on the orders of the Nigerien government. Niamey, Bamako, and Ouagadougou, all founding members of the Alliance of Sahel States, have struck security deals with Russia, hailing Moscow as a more reliable partner.

On Wednesday, Ibrahim Bana, a pro-government figure, welcomed Niamey’s latest action as an essential measure for safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty.

“Most of these companies, security agencies, and NGOs involved in the recent authorization withdrawals or suspensions are not mere enterprises serving the Nigerien people; they represent foreign interests which in many cases are hostile to our country and our objectives strategic,” he wrote on Facebook.