NIAMEY: Thousands rallied on Saturday in the Niger capital Niamey to demand that former colonial ruler France withdraw its troops as sought by a junta which seized power in June.
The protesters gathered near a base housing French soldiers following a call by several civic organisations hostile to the French military presence in the West African country.
They held up banners proclaiming "French army leave our country".
Niger's military regime had fired a new verbal broadside at France on Friday, accusing Paris of "blatant interference" by backing the country's ousted president, as protesters held a similar protest near a French base outside Niamey.
President Mohamed Bazoum, a French ally whose election in 2021 had stoked hopes of stability in the troubled country, was detained on July 26 by members of his guard.
Relations with France, the country's former colonial power and ally in its support against fighting groups, went swiftly downhill after Paris stood by Bazoum.
On August 3, the regime announced the scrapping of military agreements with France, which has some 1,500 soldiers stationed in the country to help fight groups in the region -- a move that Paris has ignored on the grounds of legitimacy.
The agreements cover different time-frames, although one of them dating from 2012 was set to expire within a month, according to military leaders.
The military rulers have also announced the immediate "expulsion" of the French Ambassador Sylvain Itte and announced it was withdrawing his diplomatic immunity. They said his presence was a threat to public order.
On Friday, Macron paid further tribute to Bazoum, praising his "commitment, action and courage".
He dismissed Niger's rulers as having "no legitimacy" and insisted France would make its decisions with regard to Niger "on the basis of exchanges with President Bazoum".
Abdramane said, "Mr. Macron's comments and his unceasing efforts in favour of an invasion of Niger aim at perpetuating a neo-colonial operation against the Nigerien people, who ask for nothing more than to decide its own destiny for itself."
Abdramane said Niger's "differences" with France "do not touch on the relationship between our peoples, or on individuals, but on the relevance of the French military presence in Niger."
Earlier, Algeria, which shares a 1,000-kilometre land border with Niger, proposed a six-month transitional plan that would be overseen by a civilian power. — AFP
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