Crowds gather outside Johannesburg airport to observe a lunar eclipse during the night.
France’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the decision to carry out the evacuations was prompted by violence against the French Embassy in Niamey and the closure of Niger’s airspace. The ministry said French citizens were unable to leave the country on their own. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on social media Tuesday that Italy is also offering its citizens in Niamey a special evacuation flight. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Washington is still assessing the situation before making a final determination about whether to pull its military assistance from Niger, a key counterterrorism ally in the region.
SOURCE: VOA