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NIAMEY. – Niger’s ruling junta has ordered police to expel France’s ambassador, a move marking a further downturn in relations, and one that authorities in Paris said the army officers who seized power in Niamey last month had no authority to make.
The coup’s leaders are following the strategy of juntas in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso in distancing themselves from the region’s former colonial power amid a wave of anti-French sentiment.
The visas of French ambassador Sylvain Itte and his family have been cancelled and police are instructed to expel the envoy, the junta said in a statement dated Aug. 29 and confirmed as authentic on Thursday by its communications head.
Instigators of the coup last Friday ordered Itte to leave the country within 48 hours in response to what they called actions by France “contrary to the interests of Niger”.
It said these included the envoy’s refusal to respond to an invitation to meet Niger’s new foreign minister.
The coup has been condemned by regional African authorities and Western nations. West Africa’s regional body ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger that have hampered the delivery of food and aid. The bloc has also threatened to intervene militarily if diplomatic efforts to restore democracy fail. – Reuters
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