Niger Junta expels French Ambassador

The military leadership in Niger Republic has expelled the French Ambassador, Sylvain Itte, from the country.

The Junta ordered Ambassador Itte to leave the West African country within 48 hours.

In a statement released on Friday, Niger’s Foreign Ministry said the decision to expel the Ambassador was due to his refusal to honour an invitation.

According to the statement; “Other actions by the French government contrary to the interests of Niger” led to the ambassador’s withdrawal.

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Though the Foreign Ministry did not provide further details, the junta had accused French forces of freeing captured “terrorists” and breaching a ban on the airspace in an attempt to destabilise the country.

The country’s military authorities had also accused the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of aligning its troops with a foreign entity whom it did not mention.

A former French colony, Niger Republic was France’s partner before last month’s coup in the fight against jihadi violence.

But the relationship has in recent times deteriorated following a series of statements and demonstrations hostile toward France since the Nigerien army overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who is still being detained with his family.

Thousands rally in Niger after junta leader warned against foreign intervention and accused Paris of wanting to intervene militarily in Niger in order to reinstate Bazoum.

They also claimed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niger following the coup and has threatened the use of armed force to restore constitutional order, is an organisation in the pocket of former regional colonial power, France.

France has some 1,500 troops stationed in Niger to aid in fighting jihadist groups that have plagued the country along with the wider Sahel region for years.

Meanwhile, Niger’s junta has continued with moves to stabilise itself in power by authorizing troops from neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to its aid in the event of any military intervention from ECOWAS or other foreign powers.

Yhe junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, signed two executive orders authorizing the “security forces of Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene in Niger territory in the event of aggression,” according to a senior junta official Oumarou Ibrahim Sidi.

Sidi disclosed this late on Thursday after hosting a delegation from the two countries in the Nigerien capital, Niamey and this development has raised the stakes in a stand-off with other West African nations who are threatening to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

Sidi did not provide further details about the military support from the two countries whose military regimes have also cautioned that any use of force by the West African bloc ECOWAS against Niger’s junta would be treated as an act of aggression and war against their own nations.

Before Mr Bazoum was ousted from power last month, the Niger Republic 8was seen as the West’s last major partner against jihadi violence in the Sahel region below the Sahara Desert, which is rife with anti-French sentiment.