PNN – The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the closure of its embassy in Niger until further notice.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, nearly two weeks have passed since the withdrawal of French troops from Niger, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country’s embassy in Niger has been closed until further notice.
The French soldiers who were stationed in the country under the pretext of fighting extremists during the former government of Niger, started their withdrawal from Niger in October.
The departure of the French military and the closure of the country’s embassy is the high point of Niger’s disconnection with France since the current military council overthrew the government of Niger’s former president Mohamed Bazoum in a coup on July 26.
According to “Agence France-Presse”, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement: “The French Embassy in Niger will now be closed until further notice. This diplomatic delegation will continue its activities from the city of Paris.
The statement continued: “Our embassy suffered serious obstacles during the last five months since the coup, which made it impossible to carry out its mammoths. One of these incidents is putting barriers around this building.”
Most of the employees of this embassy, ​​including the French ambassador in Niger, who was fired by the new military leaders of this country, had left the country some time ago.
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The last group of French soldiers and military aircraft left Niger on December 22, the deadline set by Niger’s military rulers for the withdrawal of French military forces, the French army’s general staff said in an emailed statement on December 23.
Immediately after taking power, Niger’s military rulers demanded the withdrawal of 1,500 French soldiers stationed in the country under the pretext of fighting militia groups and canceled several military agreements with Paris.
After a long dispute, Paris accepted this request, and French President Emmanuel Macron said shortly before the December 22 deadline that the withdrawal of French troops from Niger would be completed by the end of this year.
The first convoy of French soldiers left Niger on October 10.
The military rulers of Niger have been gradually cutting off relations between this West African country and its Western partners since they accused the government of Muhammad Bazum of corruption and dismissed it.
Despite France’s withdrawal from Niger, several other western countries still maintain their presence in this West African country.
The United States announced in December that it was ready to resume cooperation with Niger’s rulers on the condition that the current military regime commit to a quick transition of power to a civilian government.
A US official announced in October that Washington would keep about 1,000 military personnel in Niger but would no longer provide training and assistance to the Nigerien military.