Abuja — The Republic of Chad has ordered the German ambassador, Gordon Kricke, to leave the country owing to his "lack of respect for diplomatic customs".

In a terse statement at the weekend, the Chadian government asked Kricke, who has been serving as Germany's ambassador to Chad since 2021, to leave in 48 hours.

The country's communication ministry said: "this decision of the government is motivated by the discourteous attitude and the lack of respect for diplomatic customs". The ministry did not expand on the reasons it gave for Kricke's expulsion.

Kricke had criticised delays in holding elections after the 2021 coup and a ruling last year that would allow Mahamat Deby, the interim military leader, to run in elections in 2024, Reuters quoted Chadian government sources as saying.

Military leaders in the Central African country originally promised an 18-month transition to elections when Deby seized power after his father, President Idriss Deby, died.

In 2022, however, the military junta extended the timeline by two years, delaying elections until October 2024.

The decision sparked protests which saw the military using force to handle the riot. Dozens of civilians were killed.

The German embassy joined others, including the United States, in expressing concern over the delayed return to democracy in Chad.

Kricke has been in the role since July 2021. He has previously served as a diplomat in Niger, Angola and the Philippines. He was also a special representative for Germany in the unstable Sahel.

A government source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that Kricke was seen as "interfering too much" in the governance of the country, and making divisive remarks. He had been warned on several occasions, the source added.

Military leaders in the Central African country originally promised an 18-month transition to elections when Deby seized power after his father, President Idriss Deby, was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with rebels, ending decades of authoritarian rule.

But last year, the military government extended the timeline by two years, delaying elections until October 2024, sparking protests in which dozens of civilians were killed, and worrying regional powers and the United States who have warned against extending military rule.

Many diplomats in the country, which borders Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Sudan, sharply criticised the violence.

The German embassy joined others, such as France, Spain and The Netherlands, in expressing its concern about the delayed return to democracy.