France will end its military presence in Niger by the end of the year, French President Emmanuel Macron said this Sunday (24).
The decision came amid increased tension between the two nations since a military junta took control of Niger last July. There are around 1,500 French soldiers left in the African country.
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“We are ending our military cooperation with the authorities in Niger because they no longer want to fight terrorism,” Macron said of the military leaders who took over the government of the northwest African country.
France has not recognized Niger’s military authorities and insists that deposed president Mohamed Bazoum remains the country’s only legitimate authority. The decision to end “cooperation” is “because we are not there to deal with internal politics and be hostages to coup plotters,” said Macron, referring to the military group.
The withdrawal will be organized in the coming weeks, he said. “They will return in an orderly manner in the coming weeks and months and for this we will coordinate with the coup plotters because we want this to happen calmly,” Macron said.
France had placed military troops in the country, many of whom were there to help with counterterrorism missions, on the basis that Niger was a relatively stable democracy in a region rife with political upheaval, terrorism and Islamic insurgencies, the report said. CNN .
French ambassador will also return
The French president also said that he had decided to bring the country’s ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, back to France.
“France has decided to bring back its ambassador,” Macron said. “In the next few hours, our ambassador, together with several diplomats, will return to France.”
This announcement comes just over a week after Macron said that the ambassador was “literally held hostage in the French embassy”, and that “food was prevented from being delivered” to the embassy in Niamey, the capital.
After the July coup, the military junta ordered Itte to leave the country, revoked his visa and instructed police to expel him. But the diplomat remained in office and French authorities reiterated that they did not recognize the junta’s authority.
VIDEO – USA, UN and European Union condemn coup attempt in Niger
Source: CNN Brasil
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