The recently established military leadership in Niger has revoked the diplomatic immunity of France’s ambassador and issued instructions to have him removed by the police, as revealed in a letter obtained by press agencies on Thursday. This action escalates the already heightened tensions with Niger’s longstanding ally, France.
Niger’s new military rulers have stripped France’s ambassador of diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him, according to a leaked letter, a move that ratchets up tensions with the country’s traditional ally.
The move follows a coup in the troubled Sahel state on July 26 that toppled a close French ally, President Mohamed Bazoum.
Relations with France spiraled downwards after Paris stood by Bazoum and refused to recognize Niger’s new rulers.
On Friday, the authorities gave French envoy Sylvain Itte 48 hours to leave the country.
France refused the demand, saying that the government had no legal right to make such an order.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron singled out Itte for praise after he remained at his post.
French military spokesman Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere on Thursday warned that “the French military forces are ready to respond to any upturn in tension that could harm French diplomatic and military premises in Niger”.
An organization set up after the coup named the Patriotic Front for Niger Sovereignty (FPS) has led public demands for the coup leaders to take a hard line on France.
It has lashed Itte as being a “French citizen in an irregular situation” on Niger’s soil.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
