STORY: French military convoys rolled through the outskirts of Niamey on Tuesday (October 10), marking the start of their departure from Niger.Pickup trucks and armored personnel carriers laden with French troops left bases in southwest Niger as demanded by the country's junta.Sidi Ali was among residents glad to see the soldiers leave.“If the people of Niger as a whole have decided that a particular force should leave, then that force must leave. And that is the will of the people. And the will of the people must always be respected.”This appears to be the final nail in the coffin of France's military ties with its former colony.It's also the latest sign of how France's influence in the region has been diminished following several coups in West Africa.French forces have also been kicked out of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.That's left a hole in international efforts to counter a decade-old insurgency in the Sahel and exacerbated Western fears over Russia's expanding sway in Africa.Also on Tuesday, the United States declared the July takeover a military coup d'etat - resulting in the official suspension of assistance. U.S. officials said there were, however, no plans to change the U.S. troop presence in the country.Niger's military government has called for the cooperation of citizens as some 1,500 French soldiers leave via road to Chad.[Niamey resident Mohamed Issaka, saying:] "We will watch them as they leave the country in good health and peace, that not a hair on anyone's head be touched by anyone from our country."It's a long journey through insecure territory.A joint France-Niger withdrawal plan said Niger's military would provide security backup to French convoys.The French foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.