 The last French troops deployed to Niger to help fight a decade-old Islamist insurgency in the Sahel left the country on December 22, sealing a withdrawal that is dealing a further blow to France's influence in the region.A hunter that seized power in Niger in July made France's military exit one of its key demands, echoing those of Juntas in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali after earlier coups d'air. After initially pushing back, France's President Emmanuel Macron said in September that 1,500 troops would pull out of Niger by the end of the year. The move followed a full withdrawal from Mali completed in August 2022 and the end of military cooperation with Burkina Faso in February, raising concerns about spiraling insecurity in the region. Until the coup, Niger had remained a key security partner of France and the United States, which have used it as a base to fight groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic state that have killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel and beyond. France said on Thursday that it was planning to close its embassy in Niger for an indefinite period as it was unable to carry out diplomatic tasks due to restrictions imposed by the junta.