The Foreign Office said on Thursday it was scaling back operations at the UK embassy in Niger as several Britons were evacuated as part of a Western air-lift out of the restive West African country.
“Due to the security situation the British Embassy in Niamey is temporarily reducing the number of its staff,” an updated travel alert said.
It warned anew of the potential for “violent” protests after a coup in the former French colony last week deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
The US State Department on Wednesday ordered the temporary departure of non-essential embassy staff and some family members from Niger.
Nearly 1,000 people have left Niger on four flights, and a fifth evacuation is under way, France’s foreign ministry said.
It is understood that fewer than 20 UK passport holders were part of a French-led evacuation on Wednesday. At least one was taken on an Italian military flight to Rome, and a handful are believed to be left, including British aid workers.
“Our advice continues to be if you're there, and need assistance getting out, to get in touch with the embassy there, we still have staff on the ground and we will provide that assistance,” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said on Sky News.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, Niger’s new military strongman, hit out at neighbouring countries and the international community in a nationally televised speech, following threats of military intervention by the regional group Ecowas.
The coup has also been strongly condemned by Western countries, many of which saw Niger as a bastion against Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region.
But General Tchiani said Niger was facing difficult times ahead and that the "hostile and radical" attitudes of those who opposed his rule offered nothing to help.
