The leaders of Niger’s military told Sylvain Itte to go away from the country after they took control and removed the elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
The ambassador of France to Niger has arrived in Paris after a period of strain with the new military rulers in the West African nation. They insisted he leave after they took power, removing the elected leader, President Mohamed Bazoum. The French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, met Sylvain Itte to express gratitude for his efforts, despite the challenging circumstances, as stated by the ministry in a written message to AFP news agency.
Itte and six colleagues departed Niamey at around 4am, as shared by a diplomatic source to AFP earlier.
French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned in a TV interview on Sunday that the ambassador would depart “in the next few hours”.
The leaders of Niger’s military, who had asked Itte to go away after they removed Bazoum on July 26 and canceled the ambassador’s special protection and permission to stay, were pleased with the news.
Even though a 48-hour deadline for him to return to France was given in August, Itte stayed because Paris didn’t agree with or accept the new military leaders. Paris stated that only Bazoum’s removed government had the authority to tell the ambassador to leave.
Earlier this month, Macron mentioned that Itte was living in the French embassy under difficult conditions and accused the military rulers of stopping food supplies to the embassy.
Born in the capital of Mali, Bamako, in 1959, Itte had been the ambassador to Niger for a year. Before that, he was the ambassador to Uruguay and Angola.
‘Return to constitutional order’
n Wednesday, Macron’s office repeated that France supports the removed President Bazoum. He assured Hassoumi Massaoudou, the foreign minister of the ousted government, that France would keep working towards reinstating the normal order in Niger, as stated by the Elysee Palace.
During a TV interview on Sunday, Macron not only mentioned Ambassador Itte’s departure but also stated that French troops would leave Niger in the coming months and weeks, and completely withdraw by the end of the year, which was another request from the Niger government.
In the interview, the French president also declared that military collaboration between the two countries was now at an end.
In Niamey, thousands of people have been protesting near a military base where French soldiers are stationed, demanding their departure. France has around 1,500 soldiers in the country as part of a broader effort to combat groups associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
The overthrow of Bazoum marked the third coup in the area within three years. Similar events happened in neighboring ex-French colonies Mali in 2021 and Burkina Faso in 2022.
These previous coups also led to French troops being withdrawn.
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA