PARIS, Aug 1 (Reuters) - France will evacuate French and European citizens from Niger, starting on Tuesday, its foreign ministry said, days after a junta seized power in the west African country.
On Sunday, supporters of the junta burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in Niger's capital, Niamey, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas in response.
According to the French foreign ministry website, there were just under 1,200 French nationals in Niger in 2022.
Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.
But the juntas of neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea all voiced their support for the coup's leaders on Monday.
Persons:
Mohamed Bazoum, Catherine Colonna, BFM, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russia's Wagner, Bazoum, Michel Rose, Sudip Kar, Layli, Blandine Henault, Charlotte van Campenhout, Ingrid Melander, Christina Fincher, Alex Richardson
Organizations:
French, Regional, ECOWAS, Thomson
Locations:
France, Niger, West, Central Africa, Russia, Niger's, Niamey, Russian, Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea