France has asked Niger's new junta to "fully guarantee" the safety of its embassy in Niamey on Thursday hours before hundreds of pro-military protesters took the sreets of the capital following last week's coup.
France's foreign ministry said it had asked Nigerian security forces to take the necessary measures to ensure the security of foreign diplomatic personnel.
Last week's coup unleashed protests against France, which evacuated its citizens on Tuesday after a violent demonstration outside its embassy in Niamey.
Demonstrators, some of whom were waving large Russian flags, on Thursday gathered in the central Place de l'Indépendance.
Meanwhile US President Joe Biden called for the immediate release of Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
Evacuation operation over
The evacuation operation for nationals wishing to leave Niger has come to an end, France's foreign ministry announced on its website on Thursday.
On Wednesday night, it said that 992 people were evacuated to France in the operation, a group made up of 560 French citizens but also including other nationals.
#Niger 🇳🇪 | Un quatrième vol d'évacuation est en route vers la 🇫🇷, portant à 992 le nombre de personnes évacuées, dont 560 Français, aux côtés de nombreux ressortissants étrangers@MinColonna@SebLecornu@becht_olivier@Armees_Gouv@CdCMAE@EtatMajorFR@ambafr_au_niger pic.twitter.com/Mx5S8QR3Rc
— France Diplomatie🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo) August 2, 2023
A total of five military aircraft have been chartered for the evacuations.
Evacuations are being carried out on a voluntary basis. Some 1,200 French nationals are registered on the consular lists, but some of them are on holiday outside France.
Coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani late Wednesday said French citizens "have no objective reason to leave Niger" and that they "did not face the slightest threat".
The United States on Wednesday ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy in Niger, the State Department said.
And Britain said Thursday it was temporarily cutting its embassy staff in Niger following the military coup.
