On Monday, September 18, the top diplomat for the European Union expressed support with France’s ambassador to Niger, who has come under a lot of criticism for defying military commanders in Niger’s order to leave the country.
“We also stress again our solidarity in France, over the situation of its ambassador on the ground, full solidarity with France and full support to President Bazoum,” Josep Borell tolf reporters on Sep. 18 after the bloc’s foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Ambassador Sylvain Itté was reportedly expelled by the military that took over on July 26 after toppling the elected government in late July.
But Paris didn’t contact him back before the 48-hour limit.
The previous colonial power afterwards declared that it did not recognise the putschists’ authority.
The military junta in Niger claimed to have stripped the French ambassador of his diplomatic protection and ordered the police to remove him from the country. The visas of Sylvain Itté and his family have also been revoked.
Last week, President Emmanuel Macron claimed that the ambassador was “being held hostage” at the embassy and was subsisting on military rations since the military had halted supply delivery.
Additionally, Josep Borell reaffirmed the bloc’s “full solidarity” with Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president who has been living with his family under house arrest. The senior diplomat for the EU commended his “courage and determination.”
In the Sahel, where France has spearheaded years of efforts to combat jihadists, Borrell claimed that the Europeans also agreed on the need to “reassess” their policy.
“We need a new approach as we are facing a much more complex environment,” he said.
“We insisted on the idea that we need African solutions for African problems.”
According to Borrell, the European Union has invested 600 million euros over the past ten years on civilian and military missions in the Sahel, training 30,000 members of security forces and 18,000 soldiers in Mali and Niger.
Nevertheless, the military has assumed control of both nations as well as the neighboring Burkina Faso.
