RABAT, September 2. /TASS/. Niger’s Interior Ministry, part of the government formed by the leaders of the recent coup, demanded that the French ambassador leave the country, Al Jazeera television reported.

The ministry said Ambassador Sylvain Itte and his wife were staying in Niger illegally.

"We have sent them an order to comply with the decision of expulsion," the ministry said.

On August 25, the leaders of the Nigerien coup demanded that the ambassador leave the country within 48 hours. Al Hadath television reported that the ambassador hadn’t responded to a summons to the Nigerien Foreign Ministry, which is controlled by mutinous soldiers, and refused to meet with their representatives. The French Foreign Ministry said then that it viewed the demands as illegitimate.

In late July, a group of mutinous soldiers in Niger announced the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. Leaders of the ECOWAS countries slapped harsh sanctions on Niger and demanded that the mutinous soldier release Bazoum, or face the use of force.