French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced that Paris will end its military presence in Niger by the end of 2023. According to the sources, the government of France has decided to bring back the countrys Ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, to France by the end of 2023.The sources claim that the move by the French government has been taken amid high tensions between the two nations since the military junta seized power in Niger in July.While speaking to media reporters, President Macron said, “We are putting an end to our military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger because they dont want to fight terrorism anymore.”France will withdraw its ambassador from coup-hit Niger in the next hours, followed by a full pullout of its military contingent by the end of the year, reports AFP News Agency citing French President Emmanuel Macron— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2023In the meantime, while referring to a military group, Macron also said that the decision to end the combined effort has been taken “Because we are not there to deal with internal politics and be hostages of putschists.” “They will come back in an orderly manner in the weeks and months to come, and for that, we will coordinate with the putschists because we want this to happen calmly,” Macron said.There will be no French soldiers in Niger by end of 2023: President MacronWhen asked about the timeline of withdrawal, Macron said that there will not be any French soldiers in Niger by the end of 2023. Not only this, he also announced that the government has decided to bring back the countrys Ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, to France. Notably, around 1500 French troops have been deployed in Niger to assist with the counterterrorism.What all happenedAfter the seizure of power in July, Niger military junta has asked Sylvain Itte to leave the country, which later revoked his visa and ordered police to expel him. However, the diplomat resumed to stay in Niger. However, he will now be taken back to France.
