Niger follows Mali in announcing severance of diplomatic ties with Ukraine

MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Niger announced on Tuesday it was severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine "immediately," Ukrainian media reported with reference to the French publication Le Monde.

The publication cited a statement by Nigerian government spokesperson Amadou Abdramane, which he had made in televised remarks two days after Mali's identical decision, accusing Ukraine of supporting Tuareg insurgents who attacked a Malian military convoy at the end of July.

Niger also said it was "referring the case to the UN Security Council to make a decision on Ukraine's aggression."

The Malian government previously accused Kiev of supporting "international terrorism."

A number of African media outlets reported earlier that Ukrainian instructors trained forces opposing the Malian Transitional Government.