Red Cross Closes Office is Niger 

(3 Minutes Read)

The ICRC said it had been in dialogue with Niger’s authorities since February to understand the reasons for their decision and provide any necessary clarification but that these efforts were unsuccessful.

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced the closure of its offices in Niger and the departure of its foreign staff, four months after the junta ordered the organization to leave the country.

The ICRC confirmed the closure and departure in a statement on Thursday. In February, Niger’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had ordered the ICRC to close its offices and leave the country. No official reason was given for the military junta’s decision to shut down the organisation’s operations in the country at the time.

The ICRC said it had been in dialogue with Niger’s authorities since February to understand the reasons for their decision and provide any necessary clarification but that these efforts were unsuccessful. On May 31, Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, justified the ICRC expulsion on Nigerien state television, accusing the organization of having met with “terrorist leaders” and funding armed groups.

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The ICRC refuted the accusations in its statement on Thursday, saying that dialogue with all sides in the conflict is necessary to carry out its humanitarian mandate and that it “never provides financial, logistical, or any other form of support” to armed groups. The humanitarian organisation had been active in the West African country since 1990, mainly helping people displaced by violence from Islamic extremists, food insecurity, and natural disasters. According to the organization, it provided humanitarian aid to more than 2 million people in Niger.