Dakar: Niger’s military junta has revoked the diplomatic immunity of France’s ambassador and ordered police to expel him from the West African country, according to a statement from the military regime.
The mutinous soldiers who ousted Niger’s president more than a month ago gave French Ambassador Sylvain Itte 48 hours to leave the country last week. The deadline expired on August 28 without France recalling Itte.
The French government says it doesn’t recognise the coup-plotters as the country’s legitimate leaders.
The communique sent by Niger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this week and seen by The Associated Press on Thursday said Itte “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the embassy.”
The document also says the diplomatic cards and visas of the ambassador’s families have been cancelled. France’s government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
After Itte first was told to leave Niger, French President Emmanuel Macron said the envoy would remain in his post. Macron spoke out firmly against the coup leaders while insisting that France, Niger’s former colonial rule, is not the country’s enemy.