The head of Niger's military-run government has accused France of wanting to "destabilise" the country — seven months after driving out French soldiers engaged in the fight against terrorism.
"This sick desire to destabilise Niger has spread through the repositioning of all the agents of the French DGSE (intelligence services) that we chased out of our territory," General Abdourahamane Tiani said on Saturday.
He was speaking on in a two-hour interview on Niger public television to mark the 64th anniversary of the country's independence.
Since seizing power on July 26 last year, the new government in Niger has reset its international partnerships.
It ordered former colonial power France late last year to withdraw its troops stationed in the Sahel nation to fight armed groups.
Benin border row
"They have been repositioned in Nigeria and Benin," he said, referring to a "destabilising action" carried out by "groups of subversive agents dressed in civilian clothes" and "with elements of the Beninese armed forces themselves dressed in civilian clothes".
Nigeria had denied accommodating French troops expelled from neighbouring following speaculations that they were relocating there.
Niger regularly accuses neighbouring Benin of harbouring "French bases", which Beninese authorities and France have always denied.
These accusations have been at the root of diplomatic disputes for months with Benin, which took a hard line in the heavy sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States after the coup.
Sahel alliance
Despite the lifting of sanctions in February, Niamey has refused to reopen its border and has cut off a pipeline that was to export crude oil via a Beninese port.
"The day we know that there is no threat from Benin, we will take the appropriate measures" to reopen the border, Tiani said.
While Niger is at odds with Benin, it has forged closer ties with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, two countries also governed by military regimes that came to power in coups.
Gathered within the confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States, the three countries could soon benefit from Niger's oil, Tiani said.
