Niger’s military junta says it is severing military ties with France

A lone motorcyclist rides in Niamey, Niger (Sam Mednick/AP)

Niger’s military junta says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler, firing some of the previous government’s key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies.

The announcement on state television deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the United States’ and allies’ last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that various Islamic extremist groups have turned into the global centre of terrorism.