| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Macron accuses ruling military in Niger of holding ambassador ''hostage'' |
| 2023-09-17 |
| [AFRICANEWS] President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that La Belle France's envoy to Niger is living like a hostage in the French embassy and accused military rulers of blocking food deliveries to the mission.**The ambassador is living off "military rations", Macron told news hounds in the eastern town of Semur-en-Auxois. "As we speak, we have an ambassador and diplomatic staff who are literally being held hostage in the French embassy," he said. "They are preventing food deliveries," he said, in an apparent reference to Niger's new military rulers. "He is eating military rations." Niger's military leaders told French ambassador Sylvain Itte he had to leave the country after they overthrew President Mohammed Bazoum on July 26. But a 48-hour ultimatum for him to leave, issued in August, passed with him still in place as the French government refused to comply, or to recognise the military regime as legitimate. The coup has been condemned by La Belle France and most of Niger's neighbours. Macron said the envoy "cannot go out, he is persona non grata and he is being refused food". Asked whether La Belle France would consider bringing him home, Macron said: "I will do whatever we agree with President Bazoum because he is the legitimate authority and I speak with him every day." La Belle France keeps about 1,500 soldiers in Niger, and said earlier this month that any redeployment could only be negotiated with Bazoum. The country's new leaders have torn up military cooperation agreements with La Belle France and asked the troops to leave quickly. Macron has for weeks rejected the call to remove the French ambassador, a stance backed by the EU which has described the demand as "a provocation". Like La Belle France, said EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Nabila Massrali last month, the EU "does not recognise" the authorities that seized power in Niger. The impoverished Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... south of the Sahara, has suffered what Macron has called an "epidemic" of coups in recent years, with military regimes replacing elected governments in Mali, Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... and Guinea as well as Niger. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 A literal hostage situation looks different based on my memory. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-09-17 07:48 |