Niger’s junta issued a statement on Friday accusing the EU ambassador in the West African country of dividing a 1.3 million euro fund to assist flood victims between several international NGOs in an non-transparent manner, and without collaborating with the authorities. It ordered an audit into the fund’s management as a result.

“The European Union expresses its profound disagreement with the allegations and justifications put forward by the transitional authorities,” the EEAS said in a statement. “Consequently, the EU has decided to recall its ambassador from Niamey for consultations in Brussels.”

Niger has been under military rule since the junta seized power in a coup in July 2023. Since taking power, the Sahel nation’s military rulers have turned their backs on former colonial ruler France and have grown increasingly frosty towards the European Union.