France closes embassy in Niger 'until further notice'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – France on Tuesday announced the closure of its embassy in Niger "until further notice" due to "major obstacle."

The French Foreign Ministry said that the embassy in Niamey is closed now "until further notice" and the embassy will continue operating from Paris while consular activities will be carried out by French consulates in the region.

"For the past five months, our Embassy has been subjected to major obstacles that have made it impossible to do its job: a blockade around the Embassy, restrictions on employee movements, and the turning away of all diplomatic personnel who were supposed to arrive in Niger, in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the embassy, which will continue to operate from Paris, will maintain ties with its nationals in the West African country and with the nongovernmental organizations that work in the humanitarian sector.

It emerges the latest development in deteriorating ties between the two countries.

On Aug. 3, Niger’s military leaders announced the scrapping of military agreements with France, a decision that Paris initially rubbished, citing a lack of legitimacy.

It followed turmoil on July 26, when Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, led a military intervention in Niger that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

French President Emmanuel Macron in September announced a gradual pullout of the French troops deployed in Niger by the end of 2023 following weeks of regular protests against their presence in the West African country.