The police have been instructed by the Niger junta to expel Sylvain Itte, the French ambassador, from the country by force.
Itte was given 48 hours to leave, according to a statement from Niger’s foreign ministry on August 25. The statement claimed that Itte had refused to meet with the new leaders and cited French government actions as being “contrary to the interests of Niger.”.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, insisted that France would not budge from its stance of denouncing the takeover and supporting Bazoum, pointing out that he had been democratically elected and was acting with “courage” by refusing to resign.
Despite pressure from the junta, Macron declared on Monday that the ambassador would remain in the nation.
According to a statement from the junta dated August, the French ambassador’s family’s visas have been revoked and police have been told to deport the ambassador. 29 and was verified as genuine on Thursday by its head of communications, according to Reuters.
According to the most recent statement made by the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Itte “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the embassy.
To carry out his expulsion, the police have been given orders.
Additionally, the document added that the diplomatic cards and visas of the ambassador’s families had been revoked.
Since toppling Niger’s democratically elected Bazoum, the junta has benefited from populace anti-French sentiment to strengthen its hold on power.
The ECOWAS regional bloc sent out a “standby” force and instructed it to restore constitutional government in Niger. The bloc claims the door to dialogue is still open, but it won’t wait indefinitely because the force hasn’t yet entered Niger.
The junta has installed a new government and promised to return Niger to the constitutionally prescribed form of government within three years, but ECOWAS has rejected this timetable.
