France’s top diplomatic envoy to Niger, Ambassador Sylvain Itté, is one of those locked up in the embassy complex. – They don’t get food in, and survive on field rations, says Emmanuel Macron at a press meeting in Burgundy. The French embassy is located in Niger’s capital, Niamey. Photo: AFP On 31 August, the French ambassador received an ultimatum to leave the country. The military junta claimed that the ambassador no longer had diplomatic immunity, and asked the police to throw him out of the country. From Paris came the clear message that the coup masters did not have the power to expel Ambassador Itté. On Friday, he and other outgoing French service personnel are said to have been captured. Nigerien soldiers keep watch during a demonstration outside an airport in Niamey, Photo: – / AFP When asked by the AFP news agency whether France is considering bringing home the ambassador who is its prisoner, Macron answers: – I am doing what we agreed with President Bazoum on because it is he who has the legitimate authority in Niger, and I talk to him every day. Bloody coup The former French colony has had anything but a peaceful summer. The democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum was deposed on 26 July, and power now rests with military officers. Demonstrations have been held outside Niger’s embassy in Paris in support of deposed President Bazoum. Photo: Sophie Garcia / AP It was the fourth coup since Niger became an independent country in 1960, after more than three decades as a colony. French authorities have refused to recognize the military junta in Niger, which landed its leaders. The coup plotters demanded in August that the French ambassador had to leave the country – a demand Macron has refused to comply with. Military intervention After the coup, the West African organization Ecowas announced that they would depose the coup plotters in Niger with military force. The plan received support from the African Union, a cooperative organization with 55 member countries. The military junta owes the former colonial power to prepare for a military attack. – France continues to deploy its forces in several Ecowas countries as part of the preparations for an intervention, the regime’s spokesperson Amadou Abdramane explained on national television on Saturday. France has around 1,500 soldiers stationed in Niger. They participate in military operations against further Islamist rebels in West Africa. The country also has significant economic interests in Niger, and imports large quantities of uranium from there. Free Frenchman On Thursday, another man who was held as a prisoner was released. Stephane Jullien is an adviser to the French in the country, and was arrested on September 8, CNN writes. French authorities asked for his immediate release. Nevertheless, he was arrested for a short week before being released on Thursday. “France, leave my country!” says the poster of the supporters of the military junta in Niger. Photo: AFP The latest coup has been condemned by the world, including the UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk. – There must be an immediate return to civilian governance and spaces opened up where people can participate, influence and criticize the government’s actions and lack of actions, Türk said. Support from neighboring countries At the end of August, the military junta in Niger allowed military forces from Burkina Faso and Mali to enter the country, writes France 24. This was done “in the event of an act of war” from the outside, the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. Also in Niger’s neighboring country to the west, Burkina Faso, tensions have escalated between the rulers and the former colonial power France. On Friday evening, the military junta ordered the defense attaché at the French embassy to leave the country due to “anti-state activities”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the diplomat Emmanuel Pasquier and his team have two weeks to leave the country, reports AFP.
ttn-69
France’s ambassador taken hostage in Niger – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
