<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">President Emmanuel Macron has said France will withdraw its ambassador and end all military co-operation with Niger following a coup.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"France has decided to withdraw its ambassador. In the next hours our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France," Mr Macron said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He added that military co-operation was "over" and French troops would leave in "the months to come".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The military junta which seized power in Niger in July welcomed the move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This Sunday we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger," the junta said, in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are about 1,500 French soldiers in the landlocked West African country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision by Paris follows months of animosity and protests against the French presence in the country, with regular demonstrations in the capital Niamey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The move deals a hammer blow to France's operations against Islamist militants in the wider Sahel region and Paris' influence there. But Mr Macron said France would "not be held hostage by the putschists," speaking to France's TF1 and France 2 television stations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Macron said he still regarded ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, currently held prisoner by the coup leaders, as the country's "sole legitimate authority" and had informed him of his decision. He described the deposed president as a "hostage".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"He was targeted by this coup d'etat because he was carrying out courageous reforms and because there was a largely ethnic settling of scores and a lot of political cowardice," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Niger is one of several former French colonies in West Africa where the military has recently seized control - it follows Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Chad. The latest coup was in Gabon in August.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anti-French vitriol has flourished in the region in recent years, with many local politicians accusing Paris of carrying out neocolonialist policies - a charge denied by France.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have also been concerns in the West over the growing role in the Sahel of Russia's Wagner mercenary group. It is accused of human rights abuses and has been helping some new military regimes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The regional Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), supported by France, has threatened military intervention in Niger to reinstate Mr Bazoum. But so far it has not acted. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>