West Africa: French Ambassador Leaves Niamey
Harare — The French ambassador to Niger Sylvain Itte, left the country, barely a month after the military government had ordered his expulsion, Reuters reports.
Itte’s departure also comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron announced the diplomat’s departure along with the withdrawal of French forces from the country.
Relations with France, Niger’s former colonial power, deteriorated quickly when Paris supported overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum in the aftermath of the July coup. The military government in Niger, which seized control in July 2023, had accused France of stationing troops in various West African countries in preparation for “military intervention”.
The Sahel state is also at odds with the West African group Ecowas, which has vowed to act militarily if diplomatic pressure to reinstate Bazoum fails.
On August 3, the coup leaders in Niger ended a number of military co-operation agreements with Macron’s administration, while about 1,500 French soldiers were still stationed there as part of a larger campaign against militants.
In September 2023, the Burkinabe parliament gave the go-ahead for Captain Ibrahim Traore to send troops to neighboring Niger in response to a potential foreign military intervention to reinstate ousted leader Bazoum. This came after Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which they said would enable them to work together to counter risks of violent insurrection or outside attack.
The three countries are having difficulty containing fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and the coups damaged their relationships with regional allies and international partners.
By Allafrica
