DISINFO: France plans to invade Niger from southern Libya with US help
SUMMARY
According to Libyan sources, French and US troops are carrying out a long-scale mobilisation in the airbase of Al-Wig, in southern Libya, near the border with Chad and Niger. France wants to use this base to invade Niger through its northern territories, in parallel to the intervention of ECOWAS forces.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory not backed by any evidence, aiming to stoke anti-Western feelings by promoting unsubstantiated accusations of an upcoming military intervention by France and the US.
Contrary to what this disinformation story claims, no Libyan (or international) media have reported on any mobilisation of French and US troops in southern Libya. The original and only source appears to be a Telegram channel called Arabic Africa, which promotes pro-Kremlin messages and disinformation in Russian language, and which only names unnamed “Libyan sources” without providing any evidence. This disinformation story merely translated the Russian Telegram post into Spanish.
The allegation also defies any credibility, as it is extremely unlikely that the French army or any professional military force may consider invading Niger -a country of 1,270,000 km2- with an expeditionary force of around 1,000 troops, which is a figure even lower than the contingent of 1,500 French soldiers already deployed in the country.