The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger announced in a statement today, Friday, that the military council that seized power on July 26 asked French Ambassador Sylvain Itté to leave the country within 48 hours. The ministry's statement noted that the decision to expel the ambassador was made for several reasons, including his refusal to respond to an invitation to meet with the minister of foreign affairs of Niger.
The statement added that other actions taken by the French government also conflict with Niger's interests, without going into further details. The same request was made to the American and German ambassadors. However, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that the Nigerien Foreign Ministry informed the U.S. government that images of messages circulated online calling for the departure of some U.S. diplomats were not issued by the ministry.
New U.S. Ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, arrived in the capital Niamey earlier this month to assume her position. This does not indicate a change in our political stance; she will advocate for maintaining constitutional order and the release of President Bazoum.
