This week's announcement by Niger's Foreign Affairs Ministry to effectively ban the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) came unexpectedly, apparently without any prior warning. ICRC Niger has not even had a chance to update its website with the latest developments.

The premises of the ICRC in the capital, Niamey, have reportedly been closed down since Tuesday's announcement, according to Nigerien government sources, and the majority of foreign staff has immediately departed from the West African nation, as reported by the AFP news agency.

There was no official reason given for the military junta's decision to shut down the ICRC operations in the country so suddenly. However, the news came on the same day the globally recognized NGO published its latest report on its humanitarian activities in Niger.

Many believe the timing of the government intervention was not a coincidence.

Mahamadou Namaiwa Atto, a researcher and law lecturer at Djibo Hamani University in Tahoua, said the government's decision to order the ICRC to carry out the "closure of the office and the repatriation of the foreign staff" was ultimately the "prerogative of a sovereign state."

"Under the domain of international law, a government can end such agreements with other governments or sometimes also with NGOs on its own terms," Namaiwa Atto told DW — especially when "these agreements do not align with the government's own interests."

French public broadcaster RFI cited a local source who said there had been allegations that the ICRC had breached certain aspects of its agreements with the government of the impoverished West African nation, though no further details were provided.

Nigerien authorities had expressed concerns last November about the direct involvement........

© Deutsche Welle