France completes military withdrawal from Niger

French soldiers in Niger have left (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

France has completed the withdrawal of its troops after they were asked to leave Niger by the country’s new junta.

The last French military aircraft and troops departed Niger by the December 22 deadline set by the junta which severed ties with Paris after the coup in July, the French Army General Staff told The Associated Press. France already announced this week that it would close its diplomatic mission in Niger for “an indefinite period”.