Macron says France to withdraw ambassador, troops from Niger after coup

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said France is imminently to withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by its military contingent in the next months, in the wake of the coup in the west African country that ousted the pro-Paris president.

"France has decided to withdraw its ambassador. In the next hours our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France," Macron told French television in an interview, adding that military cooperation was "over" and French troops would withdraw in "the months and weeks to come" with a full pullout "by the end of the year".