NIAMEY/ TOLEDO: Niger’s new military rulers have stripped France’s ambassador of diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him, according to a letter seen on Thursday by AFP, a move that ratchets up tensions with the country’s traditional ally.

The envoy “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as member of the diplomatic personnel in the French embassy,” according to their letter, dated Tuesday, to the foreign ministry in Paris.

“(His) diplomatic cards and visas and those of the members of his family have been cancelled. The police have been instructed to proceed to his expulsion,” it said.

The move follows a coup in the troubled Sahel state on July 26 that toppled a close French ally, President Mohamed Bazoum. Relations with France spiralled downwards after Paris stood by Bazoum and refused to recognise Niger’s new rulers.

Italy fears military solution to Niger crisis could foment migration

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday that a military solution to the coup in Niger would be a “disaster” that could trigger a new migration crisis.

The main West African bloc ECOWAS has been trying to negotiate with the coup leaders, but has warned it is ready to send troops into Niger to restore constitutional order if diplomatic efforts fail.

“(A) military solution (would) be a disaster,” Tajani told reporters as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Spanish city of Toledo. “We need to work day by day for a diplomatic solution.”

Asked if he feared military intervention could lead to a migration crisis, Tajani replied: “Yes, of course. To have a war in Niger (means) more people leaving this country, as in Sudan — there are more and more people leaving Sudan.” Tajani spoke positively of an Algerian proposal this week to resolve the crisis, involving a six-month transition period led by a civilian.

Showdown

Last Friday, the authorities gave French envoy Sylvain Itte 48 hours to leave the country. France refused the demand, saying that the government had no legal right to make such an order.

French military spokesman Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere on Thursday warned that “the French military forces are ready to respond to any upturn in tension that could harm French diplomatic and military premises in Niger”. “Measures have been taken to protect these premises,” he said.

France has around 1,500 troops in Niger, many of them stationed at an airbase near the capital, that are deployed to help fight a bloody jihadist insurgency.

On August 3, Niger’s new rulers denounced military agreements with France, a move that the government in Paris has also ignored on the grounds of legitimacy.

An organisation set up after the coup named the Patriotic Front for Niger Sovereignty (FPS) has led public demands for the coup leaders to take a hard line on France.

It has lashed Itte as being a “French citizen in an irregular situation” on Niger’s soil.

It is also calling for a “massive” march next Saturday on the French base, followed by a sit-in until the troops leave.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023