France’s ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itté, left Niamey on September 27, three days after Paris announced that it would also withdraw its 1 500 troops from the West African country by the end of the year.
Niger has joined its regional neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, in expelling French troops from its soil. The three countries have since forged a pact for collective defence and mutual co-operation, known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), amid rising attacks by armed groups in the region.
The AES was
