President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced that France would withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by the French military contingent in the coming months, in a move welcomed by Niger’s military leaders as a “step towards sovereignty”
Macron’s announcement comes two months after a coup in the west African country that ousted the pro-Paris president.
“France has decided to withdraw its ambassador. In the next hours our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France,” Macron told French television in an interview, without giving details over how this would be organised.
Macron added that military cooperation was “over” and French troops would withdraw in “the months and weeks to come” with a full pullout “by the end of the year”
This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger,” said the statement from the military rulers, who seized power by overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
“This is a historic moment, which speaks to the determination and will of the Nigerien people,” the Niger statement added. Earlier Sunday the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) said on its website that the military rulers had banned “French aircraft” from flying over the country’s airspace.
It was not clear if this would affect the ambassador being flown out. In his comments, Macron said that “in the weeks and months to come, we will consult with the putschists, because we want this to be done peacefully”.
Source: France24
