Niger's Ousted President's Lawyers Deny Escape Accusation

Lawyers for Niger's deposed President Mohamed Bazoum have rejected claims by the country's military junta that he attempted to escape custody.

"We strongly reject these fabricated accusations against president Bazoum," said Mohamed Seydou Diagne, coordinator of an international team of lawyers representing the ousted leader.

The military junta earlier detained Bazoum after was Alleged that "his family, his two cooks and two security elements, tried to escape from his place of detention". They apparently had intentions of departing via helicopters "belonging to a foreign entity" en route to Nigeria.

French military convoys started leaving bases in the Niger's southwest, further undermining France's standing in the conflict-torn Sahel region.

This comes after French President, Emmanuel Macron, declared the troops' departure at the end of September, after the Niger generals demanded their evacuation.

Furthermore, the head of the UN diplomatic mission in the country is being forced to leave, saying that Niger was left out of the UN General Assembly in September.

Meanwhile, the United States officially referred to the military takeover of power on July 26 as a "coup d'état". As a result, the country, which currently maintains about 1,100 troops and a sizeable drone base in Agadez, central Niger, announced the withdrawal of about U.S.$500 million in economic aid.