The military junta in power in Niger ordered the expulsion of Ambassador Sylvain Itté in a letter addressed to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On August 28, President Emmanuel Macron rejected the first request, saying that he will not heed the directives of “illegal” authorities.
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Despite the position of Paris, which a few days ago rejected the request of the coup leaders that the French ambassador in Niger leave, the military junta in power ordered his expulsion from the country on Thursday, August 31, in a letter addressed to Paris .
The decision comes after the French diplomat was given an ultimatum to leave Niger.
According to the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated Tuesday, Ambassador Sylvain Itté “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the French embassy.”
His “diplomatic cards and visas” and those of his family members “are cancelled,” the letter states, adding that the Niger police “have received instructions to proceed with the expulsion” of Sylvain Itté.
On Friday night, the ruling military had given the French diplomat 48 hours to leave the country, but Paris refused, arguing that the government was illegitimate and had no authority to make such a request. When this deadline expired, Sylvain Itté, whose work Emmanuel Macron praised on Tuesday, was still in Niamey.
On Thursday, the spokesman for the French General Staff, Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, warned that “the French military forces are ready to respond to any escalation of tension that threatens the French military and diplomatic bases in Niger” and that “they have taken measures to protect these bases”.
Increased regional tensions
France has some 1,500 military personnel in Niger who have trained and carried out joint operations with Nigerien security forces to deal with a growing jihadist insurgency linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group. Operations have ceased since the coup and jihadist attacks are on the rise.
Insurgents have killed 17 soldiers and wounded nearly 24 this month, the first major attack in half a year against the military in Niger.
Regional tensions are also rising as the junta ignores calls from other West African countries to release and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, even under threat of military force.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed a standby force and ordered it to carry out Niger’s transition to constitutional rule. The force has not yet entered Niger and the block affirms that the door is still open to dialogue, but that it will not wait forever.
The military junta has appointed a new government and has stated that it will return Niger to the constitutionally prescribed system of government within three years, a term that ECOWAS has rejected.
With AP and Reuters
This article was adapted from its original in French and English
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