French military convoys have begun withdrawing from bases in southwestern Niger, marking the beginning of a request for withdrawal by the Nigerien junta, which has further undermined France's influence in the conflict-affected Sahel region of West Africa.
Reuters reporters said the junta said the withdrawal would begin the next day late Monday, and on Tuesday, pickup trucks and armored personnel carriers full of French troops drove through the dusty suburbs of the capital Niamey.
In a statement read out on state television, the junta called on citizens to cooperate with the troop movement, which it said would involve some of the 1,500 French soldiers who would leave Niger for Chad by road, a journey that stretches hundreds of kilometers through sometimes unsafe areas.
An airport worker and two other sources familiar with the flight said dozens of French servicemen left Niger on military planes on Monday.
The French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The joint withdrawal plan between France and Niger, seen by Reuters, said the Nigerien military would provide security support for French convoys withdrawing by land.
France agreed last month to withdraw its troops from Niger after weeks of pressure from officers who seized power in July, marking a complete rupture in French military ties with its former colonies amid rising anti-French sentiment in the region.
French troops have also been driven out of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso since they seized power, leaving a huge hole in the international community's efforts to combat the decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and heightening Western concerns about Russia's expanding influence in Africa.