Junta-run Niger, which has severed links with former colonial ruler France, on Monday, March 17 said it was quitting a global group of French speaking nations called the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIC) − an organisation resembling the Commonwealth.

"The Nigerien government has independently decided to withdraw Niger from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie," the foreign ministry said.

Niger was suspended from the group after a military coup toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.

The 88-state OIC had demanded a speedy return to constitutional order and Bazoum's release. The toppled president and his wife are still being held by the West African country's new rulers.

Niger's military rulers have turned their backs on Paris, instead forging ties with fellow juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali, as well as Russia.

Shortly before the coup, Niger adopted a new national anthem titled "For the honor of the fatherland," which references the anti-colonial struggle.

It replaced "La Nigerienne," whose lyrics were written by French composer Maurice Albert Thiriet in 1961, a year after the country gained its independence.