Protests against French convoy in Niger turn deadly

At least 2 people were killed and 16 injured as protesters angry over French influence in the region had a standoff with the convoy that had just left Burkina Faso where it had been blocked for a week.

French soldiers and Nigerien military police had fired warning shots to disperse protesters who were trying to pillage and seize trucks.
AP

French soldiers and Nigerien military police had fired warning shots to disperse protesters who were trying to pillage and seize trucks.

At least two people were killed and 16 others injured in western Niger when protesters clashed with a French military convoy they blocked after it crossed the border from Burkina Faso.

Hamma Mamoudou, the mayor of Tera, told Reuters news agency on Saturday that two of the protesters were killed and 16 others injured during the standoff, "most likely" by gunshots.

French military spokesperson Colonel Pascal Ianni told Reuters earlier that French soldiers and Nigerien military police had fired warning shots to disperse protesters who were trying to pillage and seize trucks.

Ianni said the convoy was then able to continue on its way toward the capital Niamey. He did not immediately respond later to a question about the deaths.

READ MORE: French soldiers injure protesters in Burkina Faso

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Backlash over French presence

On Friday, the armoured vehicles and logistics trucks had crossed the border after being blocked in Burkina Faso for a week by demonstrations there against French forces' failure to stop mounting violence by militants.

It was able to leave Burkina Faso but ran into new protests on Saturday morning less than 30 kilometres across the border in the western Niger town of Tera, where it had stopped to spend the night.

Video shared by a local official showed the protesters, mostly young men, shouting "Down with France!" as black smoke rose from a burning barricade.

In the demonstrations in Burkina Faso and elsewhere, protesters have cited conspiracy theories that France is secretly supporting the militants to justify its continued military presence in its former colonies.

France intervened in Mali in 2013 to beat back militants who had seized the desert north, before deploying soldiers across the Sahel. While it has killed many top militant leaders, violence has continued to intensify and spread in the region.

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