The French president says the ambassador and diplomatic staff are literally being held hostage at the embassy.
(Photo: IMAGO/IP3press)
Paris, Ougadougou According to President Emmanuel Macron, the French ambassador who is staying there after the military coup in Niger is being held “hostage” with his staff. “In Niger, as I speak to you, we have an ambassador and diplomatic staff who are literally being taken hostage in the French embassy,” Macron said on Friday. “They are preventing the delivery of food,” Macron said of the coup plotters. The ambassador lives on military rations.
Despite an ultimatum from the coup plotters to leave, the French ambassador remained in Niger at the end of August. It was said that France does not recognize the putschists. The coup plotters are not entitled to demand the removal of the ambassador because his accreditation comes from the elected Nigerien representatives.
A month and a half ago, the presidential guard in Niger deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in a military coup. The commander of the elite unit, General Abdourahamane Tiani, appointed himself the new ruler and suspended the constitutional order. Niger has recently been an important partner for France in its fight against terrorism in the Sahel region. Paris has around 2,500 soldiers stationed in Niger and neighboring Chad.
Meanwhile, the military junta in Burkina Faso expelled the French defense attaché from the country for “subversive activities.” Emmanuel Pasquier and his staff would have to leave the West African country within two weeks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In addition, Burkina Faso will close its military mission in Paris “with immediate effect,” it said.
Like neighboring Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso is also turning away from the former colonial power France and other Western partners. After a military coup in the fall, a transitional government headed by President Ibrahim Traoré governs the country with around 21 million inhabitants.
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