Benin debunks construction of military base to host French forces leaving Niger

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The government of Benin has denied a report by a Nigerien media that a military base in the north of the West African country is under construction to house French troops leaving Niger.

In a statement, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, the spokesperson for the President Patrice Talon’s administration rubbished the information that a military base is being built near the northern town of Kandi to house the French troops departing from Niger.

“I’d like to make it clear that, while I’ve asserted in due course that we benefit from the support of French, Belgian and American instructors in particular, no French military base is under construction in our country, and certainly not in the Alibori department,” Houngbédji underscored.

“Moreover, it is well known that the French and Belgian instructors in question left more than six months after completing their mission. To put it plainly, it’s all the ravings of sensation-seekers who, without any investigation, allow themselves to make unfounded assertions”, he stressed.

Niger houses 1,500 French troops which will be gradually pulled out of the country by the end of 2023. The destination of these troops after the pull out is not yet known, with some many analyst saying that they might end up in Benin being runed by a Pro-French government.