NIAMEY
\nNiger\u2019s junta, which seized power in a coup on July 26, said on Friday it had ordered French ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the West African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further.
\nLike recent coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, the military takeover in Niger came amid a growing wave of anti-French sentiment, with some locals accusing the European country of interfering in their affairs.
\nIn a statement, the junta-appointed foreign ministry said the decision to expel the ambassador was a response to actions taken by the French government that were \u201ccontrary to the interests of Niger.\u201d
\nIt said these included the envoy\u2019s refusal to respond to an invitation to meet Niger\u2019s new foreign minister.
\nThe French foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
\nOfficial-seeming statements were shared widely online on Friday that appeared to show Niger ordering the US ambassador and German ambassador to leave the country in similar terms to the statement about the French envoy.
\nThe US State Department on Friday said Niger had informed it this had not been issued by its foreign ministry. \u201cNo such request has been made to the US government,\u201d it said.
\nThe United States has been pressing for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis that erupted on July 26 when Niger military officers seized power, deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.
\nThe new US Ambassador to Niger Kathleen Fitzgibbons only arrived in the capital, Niamey, earlier this month.
\nA source in the junta and a Nigerien security source said only the French ambassador had been asked to leave.
\nThe ultimatum against the French envoy was quickly rejected by Paris, which repeated that it did not recognize the military rulers\u2019 authority, according to a report by AFP.
\n\u201cThe putschists do not have the authority to make this request, the ambassador\u2019s approval coming solely from the legitimate elected Nigerien authorities,\u201d the AFP report quoted the French foreign ministry as saying on Friday.
\nThe coup has pushed Niger\u2019s long-standing relationship with France to breaking-point and this latest move raises further doubts about the future of joint military efforts to fight an Islamist insurgency in the conflict-torn Sahel region.
\nFrance has called for President Mohamed Bazoum to be returned to office following his ouster and has said it would support efforts by West African regional bloc ECOWAS to overturn the coup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NIAMEY Niger\u2019s junta, which seized power in a coup on July 26, said on Friday it had ordered French ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the West African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further. Like recent coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, the military takeover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351830,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-351949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n