US says Niger has not told US ambassador to leave the country

(This Aug. 25 story has been corrected to fix Kathleen FitzGibbon’s name in the story)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Niger’s Foreign Ministry has told the U.S. government that images of letters circulating online calling for the departure of certain American diplomatic personnel were not issued by the ministry, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

“No such request has been made to the U.S. government,” the spokesperson said after AFP reported that Niger had given the U.S. ambassador 48 hours to leave the African country.

The United States has been pressing for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis that erupted on July 26 when Niger military officers seized power, deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.

The new U.S. Ambassador to Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon only arrived in the capital, Niamey, earlier this month.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; editing by Costas Pitas, Chris Reese and Rosalba O’Brien)