DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross announced the closure of its offices in Niger and the departure of its foreign staff, four months after the ruling junta ordered the organization to leave the country.
The ICRC confirmed the closure and departure in a statement on Thursday.
“We reiterate our willingness to maintain constructive dialogue with the authorities of Niger with a view to resuming our strictly humanitarian protection and assistance activities," Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s regional director for Africa, said in the statement.
In February, Niger’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had ordered the ICRC to close its offices and leave the country. No official reason was given for the military junta’s decision to shut down the organization's operations in the country at the time.
The ICRC said it had been in dialogue with Niger's authorities since February to understand the reasons for their decision and provide any necessary clarification but that these efforts were unsuccessful.
On May 31, Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, justified the ICRC expulsion on Nigerien state television, accusing the organization of having met with “terrorist leaders” and funding armed groups.
The ICRC refuted the accusations in its statement on Thursday, saying that dialogue with all sides in the conflict is necessary to carry out its humanitarian mandate and that it “never provides financial, logistical, or any other form of support" to armed groups.
The humanitarian organization had been active in the West African country since 1990, mainly helping people displaced by violence by Islamic extremists, food insecurity and natural disasters. According to the organization, it provided humanitarian aid to more than 2 million people in Niger.
Niger’s military rulers took power in a coup two years ago, the latest of several military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel, the vast, arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert that has become a hotspot for extremist violence by militant groups.
Since the coup, Niger has pulled away from its Western partners, such as France and the United States, turning instead to Russia for security.
Last November, the country's military junta banned the French aid group Acted from working in the country amid tensions with France.
FILE - Medical staff with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and South Sudan Red Cross, move a wounded patient to an ambulance in Akobo, South Sudan, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Joseph Falzetta, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Workers began removing President Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue’s operations.
Scaffolding was erected Friday around a section of the building that includes Trump’s name, but shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday because of thunderstorms that had swept through the Washington area, causing a delay.
In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning.”
A few hours later, workers began covering the scaffolding with tarps before they eventually started taking down Trump's name. They packed up and left the site around 3:30 a.m., though the tarps remained, leaving it impossible to determine if all the letters had been removed.
Dozens of people spent hours Friday on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down.” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza.
Earlier Friday afternoon, a judge rejected a request to pause the court-ordered deadline. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.
After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.
In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.
The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.
“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”
Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.
A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Women take a selfie as the wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is covered in tarp as work continues on the removal of President Donald Trump's name, Saturday, June 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
A worker constructs scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is covered in tarp as work continues on the removal of President Donald Trump's name, Saturday, June 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is covered in tarp as work continues on the removal of President Donald Trump's name, Saturday, June 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is covered in tarp after President Donald Trump's name was removed, in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
A worker removes a letter from President Donald Trump's name from the wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A worker removes a letter from President Donald Trump's name from the wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Workers wait for the rain to stop before resuming work to remove President Donald Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A double rainbow is seen from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Workers construct scaffolding below the sign for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Protestors wave a U.S. and signs as workers prepare to remove President Donald Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
