The Latest Breaking News from Niger

France was welcomed as a saviour in Mali in January 2013 after it sent in troops to fight jihadism in the north of the country. Nine years on, the insurgency has grown and many Malians are applauding France's departure, suggesting it failed in its mission.

As France and its European allies prepare to leave Mali, Paris plans to increase its military cooperation with Niger in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the Sahel. But it’s a marriage of convenience as coups and rising anti-French sentiments in the region have left Paris with little choice.

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum says French and European special forces can cross into its territory from neighbouring Mali to combat jihadists and boost security near the border with the West African state.

Comments by President Mohamed Bazoum come a day after France and European allies announce withdrawal from Mali.

Niger has accepted that French and European special forces will be deployed into its territory from neighbouring Mali, in order to secure the border area with the West African state, Niger's president said on Twitter on Friday.

France and military allies are leaving Mali after using it for almost a decade as a base for fighting Islamist insurgents who continue to wreak havoc and control swathes of territory around West Africa.

French president denies that the almost decade-long military deployment led by his country has ended in failure.

In a joint announcement from the Élysée Palace on Thursday, France and allied nations announced that they were withdrawing troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the ruling junta after nine years of fighting a jihadist insurgency. Read FRANCE 24's live coverage of the day’s events as…

France on Thursday announced the withdrawal of its military mission in Mali, Operation Barkhane, after nine years of battling jihadists in the region. At the request of Malian authorities, France launched an intervention in January 2013 to oust Islamists who had taken over much of the north.

Algeria's Sonatrach oil company said it had signed an agreement with the Niger petroleum ministry to share production in Niger's Kafra region, according to a Sonatrach statement. Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration and Production, a subsidiary of the Algerian company, signed the agreement in Niger's capital. Sonatrach's works in Kafra cover…

Nine people including a Frenchman were killed this week in attacks in a national park in Benin's remote north bordering troubled Niger and Burkina Faso.